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In 2022, the top five reported types of text message scams cost consumers $330 million. That’s according to a new analysis from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that analyzed those cons.

The FTC noted that the median reported loss in these scams was $1,000 — more than double what was reported in 2021, and nearly five times what people reported in 2019. In fact, the FTC says, reports about text scams spiked in the first six months of the pandemic and never returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The top five text scams – which account for more than 40% of randomly sampled text frauds reported last year – have one thing in common, according to the FTC: They work by impersonating well-known businesses, adding that the scammers use the speed of text communication to their advantage.

2022’s top 5 text scams:

• Copycat bank fraud prevention alerts: This type of scam is up nearly twentyfold since 2019, with a median reporting loss of almost $3,000 last year. In this scam, you are alerted that there is supposed suspicious activity, or asked to verify a large transaction (that you didn’t make). If you reply, you will get a call from the fake fraud department that actually transfers money out of the account. Victims also report giving personal information such as Social Security numbers in this type of scam, leading to possible identity theft.
• Fake gifts/rewards: This scenario will offer a free gift, reward or prize, made to look like it came from a well-known company. To redeem the fake gift, you will get a link to pay a small shipping fee, but you are really just giving your credit card number to the scammers.
• Fake package deliveries: This type of scam will pretend to be from the postal service, FedEx, and/or UPS saying there is a problem with your delivery and linking to a website that looks real. There, users are asked for a small “redelivery fee,” which is a trick to get your credit card number. Victims in this scam have also reported giving personal information such as Social Security numbers.
• Phony job offers: This scam promises easy money in exchange for completing shopping tasks at well-known stores, wrapping your car in ads, and more. The FTC says that in this scheme, scammers use checks that appear to clear but turn out to be fake to trick people into sending them money.
• Fake Amazon security alerts: Similar to the fake bank texts, this scam pretends to be Amazon, often asking victims to verify a big-ticket order they did not make. When you call the fake representative who offers to “fix” your account, people reported giving them remote access to their phone. That “rep” then says a couple of zeroes were accidentally added to the refund, so they need you to return that money to them, often by buying gift cards and giving the cards’ PIN numbers.

To avoid these types of text scams, the FTC recommends never clicking on links or responding to unexpected texts, as well as filtering out unwanted texts before they reach you. They advise people to forward any potential scam text message to 7726 (SCAM) to help wireless providers spot and block similar messages. People can also report potential text scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

To learn more about how to spot and avoid scams, and how to recover money paid to scammers, visit the FTC Scams page.

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