How to Use Text Alerts to Protect Against Fraud

Texts that alert you to suspected fraud are only one of several different kinds of mobile text alerts available from many financial institutions. Text alerts can provide a heads-up when a bill is coming due, tell you if your account balance is low, or notify you that your spending is hitting a limit that could clash with your budget. Some alerts, such as instant notification of every new transaction, can also help to avert fraud, though most are mainly useful for your overall financial well-being.

Many financial institutions let you set up separate alerts, to be triggered by any of the following events:

• Purchase transactions: Some card issuers will send text notifications each time you use your card, so you’ll know instantly if a transaction occurs that you have not authorized.
• Transfers: You may be able to get alerts about any cash or balance transfers between accounts, a ploy used by fraudsters to steal cash from you.
  
• Unusual activity: A warning when unusual activity posts, such as a large purchase or a transaction where the card was not present, can help stop a fraudster on a shopping spree using your credit card information.
• Account changes: Setting up an alert in response to changes made to your user profile, such as a new password or changes to your personal information, can help stymie identity thieves, assuming you didn’t initiate the change. A message that your account has been locked could indicate that a hacker has been trying to crack your password.
• Secure messages: As a rule, your financial institution won’t send sensitive messages over text. But it will send a text to let you know that such a message has been sent to your online account and ask you to log on to retrieve it.

With so many potential alerts, you may fear being overwhelmed by a constantly chiming phone. But many institutions let you adjust the types and frequency of alerts. You can shift alerts that are less time-sensitive from text to email, and those where speed is critical to text with push notifications.

Fraudsters have also learned how to use texts to do their dirty work. In a practice known as “smishing” or “SMS phishing,” they add links and attachments with malicious programs to text messages made to look like legitimate fraud alerts. This makes it important for people to exercise care and read texts carefully before taking any action.

If you receive a text alert, don’t rush to answer, and don’t click on or download any links or attachments. Even texting “STOP” or “NO” to “unsubscribe” from the sender could indicate to fraudsters that they’ve hit on a working number. It may be better to block the number instead. Here are three ways to pause, and think, before acting on a fraud alert:

• Check the number: Does it look like other text spam you’ve received recently? Fraudsters often use random phone numbers. If you have received a previous text from your financial institution, see if the numbers match.
• Check the wording: Many cybercriminal groups operate abroad; if the spelling and syntax of the message are wrong, that’s a sign it could be fake.
• Check with your financial institution: Instead of clicking on the text, use the institution’s phone app or website. Any active alerts will show up in your account there. If not, the alert likely is fraudulent. If you’re still worried, go old-school: Phone customer service, using your voice.

If you do receive a fraudulent text, take a moment to report it to your financial institution. They can sound the alarm to all their customers when high-volume attacks come to light.