In addition to unwanted calls about your car’s extended warranty, now spam text messages have local cell phones buzzing.
Spam text messages are sent to your phone from a number or an email address.
They usually contain a link claiming you’ve won something or threatening that an account of yours will be charged if you don’t take action.
Many people in Kosciusko and Attala County have reported receiving these messages frequently.
One scam even pretends to be from Renasant Bank, claiming that a debit account has been closed. Those messages prompted bank officials to send out an email to its customers.
“These messages are fraud attempts and should be ignored and deleted,” reads the email. “Do not respond to these messages. Renasant will never email or test you requesting personal information.
Even Kosciusko Chief of Police Herbert Dew isn’t immune to getting these texts. He says he received the scam Rensant Bank text.
“I actually called that number from the PD this morning and the first thing they ask you for is your credit card number,” said Dew. “All they are looking for is a door to where they can come in and get all of your information.”
So what can you do about these unwanted texts?
Dew said the best thing to do is to just not engage with the texts and delete them right away.
According to Mashable.com, there are a few things you can do to try to limit the number of messages you get.
Firstly, you can block numbers on your phone.
There’s also a setting on most phones you can turn on that will filter messages from unknown numbers. This will place messages from these numbers into a separate folder that you can view whenever you want.
Additionally, there are a number of apps that are used to filter out spam calls and texts.
If you or someone you know does get click on the link and fall victim to a scam, Dew says you can come to the police station and file a report. That report might get sent on to the Mississippi Attorney General’s cyber division.
As a final piece of advice, Dew says that if you do have to give out personal information over the phone, know who it is you are speaking with.
“It really needs to be a conversation that you initiate by calling somebody. If it’s somebody that calls you or if it’s a text, you’ll want to be really hesitant about giving any information out.”
