A text was received claiming a missed UPS delivery. Initially, it seemed legitimate. However, recognizing the upswing in UPS scam messages, it was identified as a scam. Scammers use seasonal timing to exploit people's habits, with increased scams during summer vacations. The scam involved a trick where replying to the message enabled a clickable link, leading to a malicious website prompting for personal information. This tactic highlights the sophistication of modern phishing schemes, particularly in how they bypass smartphone security features.
This particular UPS scam is a savvy one, at least in some ways. I received the message on my iPhone, with the sender labeled as unknown. By default, links in a text message from an unknown sender are disabled, so you can't click on them to open them. But the scammer used a sneaky trick to get around this obstacle.
Scammers like to schedule specific types of scams for certain times of the year. During tax season, you'll see a lot of scams that spoof the IRS. During the holiday season, gift-card scams ramp up. And during the summer, missed-delivery scams are popular since the crooks know that people are often away on vacation.
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