SMS messages are an ideal way for cybercriminals to scam users. Proof of this are the multiple scams that the Police have detected and alerted, or the one that many denounce through social networks. The last that has begun to become popular in Spain is somewhat different from what we have seen so far. It consists of sending a message where the attacker pretends to be a son that he has lost his mobile to later ask him for money. This is its modus operandi and what you should do if you receive it.
The message, specifically, contains the following text or similar: “Hi dad, this is my new number. I lost my phone this morning. Please save this number. Send WhatsApp message if it worked” and it is sent from a number with an operational Spanish prefix (+34). The goal of the attackers is for the victim to fall for the scam, thinking that their son or daughter has lost their phone, save the number and confirm via WhatsApp that they already have their new number.
The attacker will not take long to respond to impersonate his son with some excuse to ask him for money through Bizum. By having the phone number saved, the victim, who may fall for the scam and believe that it is actually his son, would only have to access his bank’s app, select the amount and search for the name of the contact to proceed with the shipment. .
So you can avoid falling for the SMS scam
If you have received a similar message, do not reply or save the contact. Of course, do not confirm through WhatsApp that you have received the message either. The best, in fact, is block phone number and ignore SMS. You can block the number as follows.
- on iPhone: access the scam message and click on the contact or on the phone number. Then click on the ‘Info’ button. Finally, click on the ‘Block’ button that appears at the bottom of the screen.
- On Android: Click on the message and click on the three dots that appear at the top of the screen. Next, click on the option that says ‘Block and mark as Spam’. Finally, confirm the action.