5 Financial Scams That Target Your Cell Phone

Jake Arky   Tue, May 16, 2023

Scams are everywhere these days, from the email phishing to fake websites trying to steal your money, information or both. As scams are increasing and becoming more prevalent, it’s important to be aware of all the ways to stay safe when using your personal technology. The latest target for financial scams is right in your pocket: your cell phone.  “The phone has become the center of targets for scammers now as a scammer can send not only an email, but also a text message where people are much more trusting for some reason which really should not be,” comments Sandy Fliderman, CTO at Industry FinTech.

GOBankingRates reached out to Fliderman, as well as some other security and cyber-tech experts, to learn more about all the scams you might encounter on your phone — and ways to protect yourself.

Smishing

You might be familiar with the term “phishing,” where scammers use seemingly trustworthy contact information to furtively gain access to your data. But now there’s a new type of phishing out in the world known as “smishing.”

“This is a type of phishing scam uses text messages to trick you into clicking on a link or providing your personal information,” says Fliderman. “The text message may appear to be from a legitimate company, such as your bank or credit card company, but it is actually from a scammer.”

After you have uploaded all your information, it goes immediately to the scammer who can take your identity, money, data, or any other private material stored on your phone.

Vishing

A variation on the phishing theme is vishing, where scammers call and attempt to deceive you into giving them your personal information.

“This is a type of phishing scam that uses voice calls to trick you into providing your personal information,” notes Fliderman. “The caller may identify themselves as a representative from a legitimate company, such as your bank or credit card company, but they are actually a scammer.”

As technology is advancing, so too are the scams that can wreak havoc on your cell phone. Scams are upping their game in a variety of ways, including utilizing artificial intelligence.

“Now they are also using AI to fake the voice and make it sound more legitimate since many scammers are from outside the U.S. and have strong accents. The AI gets around this issue,” says Fliderman.

Spoofed Call

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/5-financial-scams-target-cell-210010518.html