You have a missed call text message scam

I got two of these today, I tried to report the text by holding it down and it accidentally opened the link in screen if you know what I mean, like in a smaller tab on screen, I immediately closed my iMessages, reoponed them, deleted the message and blocked the caller, will I be fine? The page didn’t seem to fully load but I’m worried something will happen.

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Assuming you, like most, do not have paid AV/malware installed on your mobile, you could install the free version of an AV or Malwarebytes and run scans for your piece of mind. They might not get 100% of everything that might be out there, but they get most of them. Using more than one in sequence is better than just one since each has its own strengths.

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Some Anti-Malware apps also now scan text messages for known phishing/smishing scams. We use Norton 360 which has such facilities, but there are likely to be others.

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I’ve had enough! 4 so far today :triumph:

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I’ve stated getting them too - I’m now getting heaps and suddenly!

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Hi, I downloaded Total AV and it didn’t really give me any scanning options, I tried downloading a few others but other than Mcaffe which said I was fine but just did what seemed like a quick scan and AVG just saying that they detected an issue which was that Safe Browsing or something wasn’t enabled and needed to use a VPN which I enabled from AVG then it said there were no issues so I disabled the VPN, removed it and deleted the App, do you have any other suggestions or should I not worry.

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I have received them also and I am getting them at least once or twice a day. I just delete them now. Would never open the link. They are not too bright, I mean look at the spelling

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Malwarebytes that you will need to do a manual scan with, and if still clean probably no worries.

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Where do I find Malwarebytes? I can’t find it in the App Store.

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It appears, like Norton 360 (which requires ongoing subscription after the initial free trial), it scans for phishing text messages.

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It is unavilable in my region. Is there a way to fix this? I also deleted the text messages which the links were contained within, will it still can my phone properly?

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They are a pain, but not necessarily stupid.

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I have had a lot of these in the last few days as well, they looked pretty sus so I just blocked number and deleted the message, I’m also at the point where I don’t answer mobile numbers from unknown numbers not saved in my contacts list as if it was important enough they can always send a text message with more info…

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I have been getting these too- started yesterday and I have probably received about 10!
Won’t click on them, but it’s getting very annoying to have them consistently pop up, and always from different numbers, so blocking doesn’t really help.

Any idea why this is happening all of a sudden- someone mentioned to me it could have to do with the check in app but I’m doubtful. I just don’t understand where I might have entered my mobile number recently where it has been passed on to phishers. Curious about this- and any tips to prevent these messages from continuing to come in would be appreciated!

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I have had an unusual number of message alert beeps over the last few weeks at various times ranging from early morning to the afternoon, way more than the unexplained Google Android update “non-alerts”.

However, when I check messages on my mobile, there is never anything to see so I do not know if it is simply Google being annoying or Google blocking a scam.

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This is exactly the type of message I’m receiving. I haven’t opened any of them and as there’s no number attached to the message that I can see I can’t block them. I would love to thank everyone for the support about this problem and for the suggestions on what to do.

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It is hard to block text messages that have no sending phone number. And the spelling changes are designed to make it hard to use blocking on parts of the text which some phones and third-party apps can do.
I have not received a single one of these. I feel left out.
I feel that the solution will come from major Telcos putting pressure on companies that facilitate bulk SMS sending and declare them outlaws.

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Hello @lydiamoreland. Welcome.

Presumably there has been a dump of phone numbers from some breach recently and the scammers have used them in this latest attempt.

The Telcos will work out where the bulk SMS broadcasts are coming from and block them before they get to their customers in due course.

I sometimes check both my mobile number and email on a website called “haveibeenpwned”. It can give some indications of recent security breaches involving my details. At present, none for me.

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I have had three of these as well and know a couple of others who also had this problem.

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It’s one strategy that may work better for some than others. Those with a Telstra Call Guardian often choose not to use their mobile numbers except for close family, and the fixed number for all else.

It does rely on the caller, business or official government office calling to have a policy to always leave a message, or txt and call back references. I’ve not needed to call back the ATO or CentreLink recently. Regardless of any messages left or sent, you join the queue when you call back, was my experience.

We need a better solution beyond ignoring calls from unrecognised numbers.

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