Buddy text scam Going Around in Mississauga and Brampton

In Mississauga and Brampton, a text message fraud impersonating a friend or family member is going around. It can be a popular phishing scam if you have gotten a message that appears to be from a friend but you are unsure of who the sender is.

One message reads, “Hey man I won’t be there tonight I’ll have to sendit to you alright.”

Following that, the same guy replies, “Hey man, I won’t be able to make today, but I’ll give you the payment okay.”

Thankfully, several mobile service providers are now issuing alerts that this might be a “smishing and phishing” fraud. Smishing is a variation of phishing in which victims are tricked into sending sensitive information to con artists via text messaging and may receive assistance from malware or fraudulent websites.
This kind of con involves the perpetrator pretending to be someone you know and luring you in with a cordial message.

Other instances include messages that appear to be from the wrong number or scammers who pose as family members. According to Bill Boisvenue, a Brampton-based cyber security specialist with B.S.C. Solutions Group, the con artist is attempting to build a personal connection in order to acquire confidence.

Although you can block the number, con artists can quickly change it.Rogers advises against selecting any links.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre offers the following advice:

• Don’t click on links from unsolicited messages

• Don’t download attachments from unsolicited messages

• Watch for spelling mistakes

• Don’t trust a message just because the email address looks legitimate; fraudsters can spoof the address

Prabhnoor Kaur