"Smishing" now the newest scam to get your personal information

The Franklin County Sheriff’s office has issued a bulletin warning residents about an increase in scam text messages.

They are specifically concerned about messages referring people to a site where they can “claim a Wal-Mart Gift Card” Target Gift Card or Best Buy Gift Card by entering certain personal information.

The most popular website being used recently is called “walmartgift.mobi”.

The sheriff’s department says the text messages are scams and are in no way sponsored by or affiliated with the stores they claim to represent.

Legitimate businesses will never initiate a text message where they ask for sensitive personal data like credit card information or social security numbers.

This type of scam is being called “Smishing” because it uses the SMS text technology similar to the way scam web sites send “Phishing” emails.

If you receive these e-mail or text messages, it is advised that you disregard them or call the business main office to report the scam.

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