5 Most Common Text Message Scams, as New Report Shows Americans Lost $330 Million in Fraudulent Texts

If you've been getting more text messages lately without making new friends, you're not alone. Your favorite online merchants have likely been dialing up their outreach by text, offering discounts and updates. And it's easy to see why: Americans are spending far more time texting than opening emails these days. But it's entirely possible that you've started getting some unwelcome texts—from scammers who exploit our newfound appetite for making purchases and scoring deals over text.

American consumers lost $330 million to fraudulent texts in 2022, up from $131 million in 2021, according to a FTC report published last Thursday. Read on to find out what the most common text message scams are, and what you can do to protect yourself.

"Texting is cheap and easy, and scammers are counting on the ding of an incoming text being hard to ignore," said Emma Fletcher, a senior data researcher for the FTC. "Scammers use the speed of text communication to their advantage: they hope you won't slow down and think over what's in the message." If you get an unexpected text message, don't click any links or respond to it, the FTC says.

Instead, report a suspicious text to ReportFraud.ftc.gov or forward it to 7726, or SPAM. Reporting sketchy texts helps cell providers block scammers. Fletcher told CBS News that five types of texting scams accounted for 40% of all frauds by text reported to the FTC in 2022. "These are all lies and ways to take your money and personal information," she said. Here they are, in order of the most common. 

The most common text fraud, copycat bank fraud, accounted for 10% of text scams reported last year. A scammer might send a text pretending to be from a major bank like Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase. The text claims a suspicious transaction has been reported from their bank account and asks them to reply "yes" or "no" to approve or reject a transaction. Either reply results in a call from a person pretending to be from the bank's fraud department.

Don't respond to that text, said Ari Lazarus, FTC consumer education specialist, in a consumer alert. "There is no real problem. They just want your money or personal information."

In this scam, a fraudster might pretend to be a major retailer or cellphone company, inviting you to click on a link and pay a small shipping fee to receive a free gift. The scammer's goal: To get your credit card information. "If you give it, you'll get unauthorized charges on your account and no free gift," said Lazarus.

In this scam, a fraudster will send a fake text—purportedly from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS—asking you to pay a shipping fee. It's an attempt to get your credit card information or Social Security number.

In some cases, a scammer will text people a fake job offer. You're asked to click on a link to fill out a job application, the FTC says. So easy! Unfortunately, the link will direct you to a website where you're asked to send the scammer money. 

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Amazon has become so prevalent in our day-to-day lives, it's not surprising scammers would try to take advantage of that familiarity. The fifth most common scam, according to the FTC, involves a fake text that looks like a message from the online retailer.

It asks you to verify a major purchase or to upgrade your Amazon account by calling an 800 number. Those who call the number then speak to a fake Amazon representative who asks for remote access to their phone or for their credit card PIN number, the FTC says. The fake rep might also offer help in purchasing a gift card.