If you get a text message that looks to be from yourself, don’t click on it. That’s the sage advice of experts and of Verizon, which has received numerous complaints about customers getting spam text messages that seem to come from their own phone numbers.
Verizon’s community forum includes a thread published on Sunday that details a recent increase in “spoof” texts informing recipients that they’ve paid their March bill and can get a free gift by clicking a link.
“We can’t block ourselves……….what’s the solution Verizon?” asked one customer of the wireless giant. Another who reported getting the same message said the “link goes to a Russian State-Operated Live TV broadcast.”
Chris Welch, a journalist at The Verge, wrote that he was directed to the website of Channel One Russia, a state TV network, when he received such a text and clicked on a link offering a free a gift. The Biden administration has cautioned companies to be on alert for cyberattacks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
People also voiced their discontent on Reddit and Twitter.
Verizon urged against clicking on the link, saying the best response is to delete the text or message.
“Verizon is aware that bad actors are sending spam text messages to some customers which appear to come from the customers’ own number,” the company stated in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. “Our team is actively working to block these messages, and we have engaged with U.S. law enforcement to identify and stop the source of this fraudulent activity. Verizon continues to work on behalf of the customer to prevent spam texts and related activity.”