Attorney General Patrick Morrisey this week warned consumers about a texting scam targeting personal information. The office has received numerous reports within the past 24 hours from across the state in regard to this scam.
Reports indicate targeted consumers receive a text referring them to www.iphoneapplefirm.com. The text message further reads, “Important! Confirm your security account details to avoid your account from being permanently blocked.”
A similar message refers consumers to www.certificatefirm.com and reads, “As a valued US account customer, we want to make you aware of a situation that has occurred related to your address.”
The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division offers the following advice for those receiving such a message:
• Don’t text back. Legitimate companies won’t ask you to verify your identity through unsecure channels, like text message or email.
• Don’t click on links within the message. Links can install malware on your device and take you to spoof sites to get your information.
• Report the message to your cell phone carrier’s spam text reporting number. If you’re an AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint or Bell customer, you can forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) free of charge.
Just over a month ago, Morrisey joined 18 other states in asking the Federal Communications Commission to maintain restrictions on commercial text messages. The bipartisan letter requested FCC preserve current regulations and reject a petition that would allow entities to engage in less controlled high-volume messaging campaigns.
If you believe you have been the victim of this scam or any other scam, contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-368-8808 or visit the office online at www.wvago.gov.
Consumers can stay up to date with the latest scams by signing up for email alerts from our office at http://bit.ly/WVScamAlert.