Police Warn of Fraudulent Texts

Manitoba Post StaffNews

WINNIPEG – Winnipeg Police are warning people of phishing scams involving fraudulent ‘security alert’ text messages.

Police say your mobile phone may receive an unsolicited text message that has a sense of urgency and/or warnings that your bank account will be closed or your access limited. These are often scams and examples can be seen below:

Clicking the website link will take you to a fraudulent portal pretending to be the bank and may ask you to enter a username/password or personal information.

It is important to note that these messages may appear to come from your own name or phone number. These phishing attempts may also come in the form of a money request such as “…has sent you money, click here to receive it”.

Police provided some steps that can be used to help avoid these scams:

  • Never click on any link in any text message that you were not expecting.
  • Watch out for look-alike web addresses. Just because an address has the name of a real company in it, doesn’t mean it’s legitimate.
  • If you aren’t sure about a message or think it may be legitimate, go directly to the website of the business and check for any notifications there. If you don’t see anything, call the company directly.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY WINNIPEG POLICE