The FBI has issued a warning against “smishing”, which are text-based scams that people all over the country are receiving on their phones. Scammers are impersonating the agencies and companies that collect money for tolls parking tickets, credit card payments, bank notices, phone bills. Some scams are even fake anti-scam warnings. Smishing or text fraud is a new kind of old crime and it is enabled by the rise of smartphones and cashless billing. CNBC talked to toll collectors and crime experts about the rise of this problem, how to know a text is fake, and what to do about it.
Chapters:
0:00 – 01:08 Introduction
01:14 Chapter 1 – The scam
8:10 Chapter 2 – The perpetrators
10:19 Chapter 3 – How to protect yourself
Producer: Robert Ferris
Editor: Nic Golden Henry
Animation: Andrea Schmitz
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Camera: Jordan Smith and Natalie Rice
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Additional footage: Getty Images
Additional sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Why Toll Text Scams Are Out Of Control
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