Consumers should be on a watch out for a text scam that has been plaguing thousands of smartphone users, all promising the same thing: “You won a PS5!”
Individuals have been getting a message that looks around the lines of “The PlayStation5 Recently Dropped : You’re Chosen As Today’s Winner! Grab Yours By Tonight, [current date here]-[link to malicious website]” sent to their mobile device via an anonymous/random spoofed phone number.
Clearly, you don’t want to click on that link as it will take you to a malicious site that will ask you for your personal information. You won’t win anything, sorry to say. Unless you count leaked personal information or identity theft to be a prize.
There is nothing new here since text message scams have been a common thing for many years, always targeting whatever the latest trending topics are. Let it be politics, insurance, promises of free money, or new electronics, these scammers will use whatever they can to squeeze you for whatever they can get without a single care for your well-being. Why the feds haven’t gone after these people to castrate them yet is a mystery. So for now, you are your best protection. Always be smart, and if you have to question it in any way, it’s probably fake.
If you unfortunately replied and provided these scammers with your financial information, you need to contact your bank and let them know asap. Your bank should have measures to (hopefully) protect you from this kind of event. As well as internal investigative measures to help report the activities and sources to related agencies.
8 Comments
Also got one and their website has the UPS logo – thanks for this online reference to block the message.
“Parcel Tracking: Hi, your package containing “Sony PS5” with tracking # 9789561U is waiting for you to check the delivery address: “
Got one of these a few weeks ago. Why just PS? Why not Xbox? Are they too good for scammers or something? People are terrible tho. They really are.
I received the text message below,
; Steve ls 0n The Way With Your DLV, FolIow Your Package En Route Here With LlVE-MAPS; (URL Removed from comment)
I’ve already emailed the place about the play station. I put in a credit card number to pay the 3.95 for shipping. They said I ordered a subscription. Unless I called to cancel my card would be charged 37.00 every month. I did cancel 3 times. This was just yesterday. What can I do.
Are you referring to the content of this article or a completely different scam going around?
Contact your credit card company as soon as possible, and explain to them what happened. They may suggest that you cancel your current card, and order a new one – make sure to go along with this suggestion, and cancel the card at once, since it’s already been compromised. Scammers don’t care about you, and will bleed you until you’re dry – no use talking to them.
For future reference, never click on text message links that you have not requested, never trust anyone who is claiming to give you something for free – they’re almost always lying – and never enter personal information in any site unless you trust it completely.
Good luck, man.
The reason these scammers have not been prosecuted is because they are in other countries outside the jurisdiction of the United States. The country they reside in, refuse to do anything about it. Likely some bribery going on. So it continues unchecked.
Already replied hope you got it.