Did you receive a text message that says – ”USPS ECCC SMS: Your shipment has been processed at our facility but is currently on hold due to incomplete address information.To facilitate timely delivery, we request you verify your address through the link provided”?
Beware! It’s a smishing scam. Smishing is when a scammer tries to con people through SMS. The goal of this scam is to get recipients credit card info and personal details.
USPS (United States Postal Service) is being impersonated by scammers. How do you know this? The text message has the following red flags;
- It links to website address that is different from official USPS site ‘usps.com’
- A sense of urgency prompting you to click on a link.
- No tracking number
- Contains Spelling and grammatical mistakes
How The USPS ECCC SMS Text Scam Works
This scam falls into the category of ‘Smishing’ and ‘website spoofing’. Clicking on the link directs users to a spoofed website which would ask for a small credit card fee to process the incomplete address issue.
This is just a tactic to get people’s credit card details and steal funds off their credit card account. Recipients who provide their credit card info would become a victim of credit card fraud.
You could also expose your mobile device to viruses, spywares, malware, when you click on the link. This is because the website isn’t an official USPS website, and likely contains spywares, malware and viruses which are harmful to devices and can hack and destroy your mobile devices.
What To Do About this Smishing
Do Not Click On The Link
Don’t attempt to click on the link no matter how legit it looks. Clicking links inside a scam email or text message would either direct you to a fraudulent website or install malware into your device.
Block The Sender Number
The final step you should take is blocking the number that sent the email. You can do this by flagging the telephone number as spam.
Report The Scam Text
Contact USPS Support to report the smishing scam immediately. This can help them warn other customers and stop future scams.
Delete The Text Message
Deleting the text message will prevent you from mistakenly replying to it.
What You Should do If You Already Clicked on the Smishing Link
You should take the following steps if you’ve already provided your information on Usps.searchmails;
Inform Your Credit Card Company
If you provided your credit card details on this scam site, the first step you should take is calling your credit card company. They need to know that your card details have been compromised so as to closely monitor and prevent any unauthorized charges.
Place a Credit Freeze or Fraud Alert
Fraud alert is sort of like a two-factor authentication process for accessing your credit, whereas a credit freeze blocks anyone from accessing your credit — until you remove it. The credit freeze is the best option for you, if you know you wouldn’t be using the credit card anytime soon.
Scan Your Device with a Malware Checker Tool
There’s a likelihood that your device has been infested by malware or spyware after visiting the spoofed website. Scanning your device with a malware removal tool will detect and remove any viruses, spyware, or other malicious programs.
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