Phishing Text Messages to Steal Your Identity- How to Trace, What to Do

Text messages (SMS) sent to your phone can cost you money and, worse, if you fall for them, they can steal your identity.  Here is what happened to me today and what I did to trace and report it.

The message:  Just realized I had your mobile.  Please advise me of your mailing address.  Thank you sincerely for your help

Well, I had my “mobile.”  A suspicious message:  foreign language phrasing.  Of course, the text message came with a phone number.706-631-26xx  (I'm disguising the last two numbers as xx.  I had the full number.)

So, I wanted to know where the number came from.

I went to google and entered “phone 706 631-26xx white pages”- including the numbers I've replaced with 'xx'

and got this.

Clicking on the link I got:

This gives all the 1-707-xxx numbers.  There is a search bar at the top of the page.  I typed in '706-631' and click the magnifying glass.  I got this:

I clicked on 1-706-631-26xx and got this:

The number is in that list.  I clicked on it:

At this point it is up to you to fill in the form to report the problem.  Leaving this page open, I went to Skype to avoid direct tracking and called the number.  My intent was to ask for someone, like John or Peggy and see what is said.  If no answer, then listen to the message.  I called a couple of times and nobody answered either time.  The message seemed “normal” to me.  A women’s voice, midwest accent.  So is the number hijacked?  I filled in the whitepages form, which really goes nowhere.  I then googled 'AT&T phishing' and got this information from one of the pages:

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Phone and text messaging rewards scam

Be cautious if you receive a phone call or text message that entices you to claim an AT&T reward by logging into your myAT&T account. This scam directs you to a non-AT&T website that may look like the real thing, but it's a phishing site used to capture your personal information.

Scammers target AT&T customers like you in hopes of gaining access to your myAT&T account so they can make changes, order equipment, or obtain personal information. By opening links or visiting untrusted websites you may accidently download software or viruses to your wireless device or PC.

Some examples of fraudulent text messages and robo-call enticements that claim to offer an AT&T reward include:

• www.att620.com - Simply log into your account to redeem your $620. At AT&T we care about you. Thank you and have a nice day.
• www.att550.com - Simply log into your account to redeem your $550. At AT&T we care about you. Thank you and have a nice day.
• www.att440.com - Simply log into your account to redeem your $440. At AT&T we care about you. Thank you and have a nice day.

Defending yourself against a rewards scam

If you suspect a text message or phone call isn't from AT&T or is in any way fraudulent:

• Don't open the text message or click on any links within it.
• Don't respond directly to the phone call.
• Don't visit any websites a fraudulent phone call directs you to visit.

Reporting a rewards scam

We remain committed to protecting you against all forms of fraudulent activity that may compromise your security and enjoyment of our services. Partnering together, we can keep everyone informed and reduce the number of fraudulent attacks.

• Report suspected fraudulent phone calls to abuse@att.net.
• Forward any fraudulent text messages to 7726 (SPAM).
• Send any spam texts where you're not able to view the phone number to abuse@att.net, making sure you include the entire message.

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I sent a note to abuse@att.net

This suggests my experience, though ending in the same result of identity theft, was a little bit different than normal.  Has anyone else seen this kind of text phishing?