Special scam delivery

There is a new scam hitting the area and it is catching many people off guard. People are receiving text messages from “USPS, FedEx, or UPS” informing them that a package cannot be delivered or that there is an update on a delivery followed by a clickable link. It looks legit, but it is not and can cause many problems for anyone who clicks on the link.

In most cases, the link, once clicked, will take the person to a fraudulent but legitimate in appearance website where personal information will be requested, or the link will upload malware on their phone or personal computer.

This scam is called Smishing and is a form of Phishing. Phishing is a fraudulent attempt by email to gain access to personal data such as usernames, passwords, banking information, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, date of birth, PINs and other private information. Smishing is the same thing, but scammers use text or phone numbers to gain access to confidential information.

Here are some tips and ways to avoid being scammed.

• Misspelled or grammatically incorrect wording.

• Slightly misspelled or altered websites such as “fedx.com” or “fed-ex.com” or any other unusual format.

• Fake websites will have an incorrect certificate and will be missing security features.

• Ask yourself if you ordered anything or if you are expecting a package to be delivered. If you are, log into the website you ordered from or the official delivery company website and verify shipping.

• Contact the customer service department of the delivery company from their actual website to ask any questions.

• Delivery companies will not ask for personal or financial information.

• If you aren’t expecting a package and get an alert, don’t let your curiosity cost you. It is most likely a scam. Do not click the link.

Be careful out there and stay alert. If it seems weird, it probably is. Smishing and Phishing are huge problems and cost Americans millions of dollars each year.

If you suspect a scam or if you have been scammed, report it to ReportFraud.ftc.gov or report it