Earlier this month, we are celebrating National Slam the Scam Day — are you ready to slam the scam? National “Slam the Scam” Day was initiated by the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness of government imposter scams, which continue to spread across the United States.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 1.1 million identity theft reports in 2022, and the total losses of government imposter scams in 2022 were nearly $509 million. One of the tactics scammers use to exploit people is to impersonate government agencies — since June 2022, Trend Micro has detected 1,103,034 government scam text messages.
Scammers will pretend to be an agent from government agencies and contact you via phone calls, text messages, or emails. They make up various lies, trying to lure you into sending them money or revealing your credit card credentials and Social Security Number (SSN). The scammers use the attached phishing links in email or text messages. If you click on the link, they can collect whatever information you then input on the page.
With your SSN, scammers can commit cybercrime using your name. Here are some of the things they could potentially do with your SSN:
Below are some common excuses scammers use, along with some examples of fake government texts, we’ve detected this week. Have you seen any of them?
Sample phishing page
Sample phishing page
Many people were financially affected during COVID-19, and remain in need of government relief packages. Scammers target these people and send them fake messages about non-existing assistance:
We suggest you use Trend Micro™ ID Security to monitor the internet and the dark web for your personal data 24/7! The app can check if your SSN has been leaked, in addition to lots of other data like your email address, credit card numbers, driver’s license number, and more.
To read more about ID Security, click the button below:
This article was published in collaboration with Trend Micro
