Beware of "I changed my number" SMS fraud: Protect your wallet and family affection

"I changed the number" text message scam is an ancient scam that uses people's kindness to disguise themselves as friends or relatives to cheat money. A seemingly simple text message can cause huge economic losses and emotional harm. This article will reveal how it works and provide effective precautions.

Fraud method:

Scammers use the convenience of text messages to disguise themselves as mature people, claim to have changed their phone numbers and fabricate emergencies such as sudden medical expenses or emergency travel expenses, requesting emergency financial assistance. Text messages are usually full of true feelings and can easily make people relax their guard.

Scammers often ask for transfers through difficult-to-track payment methods, such as prepaid gift cards or digital payment apps, in a small amount to reduce victim suspicion. Once the money is transferred, it is difficult to recover.

Identify scam red flags:

The following signs indicate that text messages may be a scam:

• Incidence Crisis: Number changes occur simultaneously with emergency situations, and lack logical correlation.
• Not traditional payment methods: Requires payment using gift cards, prepaid debit cards or digital payment applications, which are difficult to track.
• Request confidentiality: Ask not to tell others, or not to contact the old number.
• Request personal information: Request personal or bank information.

How to protect yourself:

• Respond with caution: Be alert to text messages from strange numbers and do not trust them easily.
• Verify identity:Verify information with other known contact information, such as phone or social media. Try calling the person's old number in the contact list to confirm that it is still in use.
• Ask verification questions that only acquaintances know: Ask questions that only true friends or relatives can answer.
• Assess the rationality of the request: Think about whether the request is in line with the personality and situation of a friend or relative. Pay attention to whether there are any spelling errors or inconsistencies in the text message.
• Reject unverified payments: Never send money until identity verification is verified. If the other party insists on paying immediately, ask him to make a video call or send a real-time selfie.
• Be alert: Pay attention to any intimidation or emotional manipulation. Scammers may become angry or try to make you feel guilty when you raise questions.
• Enable security settings: Enable SMS spam filtering function and enable blocking of unknown numbers. Use the fraud detection function that comes with your mobile phone to identify suspicious information.
• Enhance network security: Regularly log out of payment applications, use complex passwords, and enable multi-factor authentication. Avoid clicking suspicious links or providing personal information in unverified text messages.

What to do if you receive a fraudulent text message:

• Don't respond: Do not engage in any interaction with scammers.
• Contact the bank or payment service provider: If you accidentally send money, notify your bank or payment service provider immediately.
• Report scam information: Report scam text messages to relevant departments (for example, in the United States, you can forward SMS messages to 7726 (SPAM)).
• Remind others:Tell your friends and colleagues about such scam information to increase their vigilance.

Staying calm, carefully verifying your identity, and thinking rationally about every unexpected request is the key to avoiding such fraud. Sharing your experience can help more people avoid being deceived.

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