“A Sum of $95.19 Was Sent To Tou By Your Phone Cmp”
Did you receive the following text message: “A sum of $95.19 was sent to you by your phone cmp. See why -> https://ggs92na.info”? You are not alone. This message came from (902) 872-0583, but rest assured it could be from any other one.
The name of the sender is listed as Telus (your phone ‘cmp’), but it could be anything else. As several people are surprised by the notification, many of them click on the link. What happens if you do that? You come across a web page that looks like this:
Indeed, that looks like a genuine INTERAC notification when you receive money from someone. Only it is not. INTERAC is a trustworthy company that doesn’t inform you about finances like that.
The scammers replicate the usual process but send recipients to shady websites like ggs92na.info or retrv201avct.xyz. These domain names always change, too.
If you fall for the scam, you may believe that you really receive money, and it may be tempting to click on the “Select Your Financial Institution” button. The screen showcases the well-known banks’ logos, so when you choose yours – that’s where the scam happens.
For example, if you click on Bank of Montreal, the phone opens a website that looks like a genuine Bank of Montreal login page, such as below.
From there, it’s easy. Once you put in your bank account and password will give access to your money. Scammers will empty your account in no time.
In this particular case, the scammers say the money’s sender is “Telus,” which is a prominent Canadian telecommunications company. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have Telus accounts, so it;’s easy to believe they might get some cashback.
This text message is a scam that occurs along the same lines as the Email Money Transfer Scam. Since technology advances day by day, most of the email scams convert into phone scams.
eTransfer Text Message Scam: How To Avoid
The most significant two red flags here are:
- a) the two domain names that open once you click the links (ggs92na.info and retrv201avct.xyz). They look nothing like INTERAC or Telus’ websites.
- b) the grammar mistakes in the text message. Who writes “your phone cmp”? Idiots.
Delete the message as soon as possible and go ahead with your day.
eTransfer Text Message: How To Report a Scammer
Warn your family and friends about the eTransfer Text Message Scam by sharing this article on social media. Also, if you wonder how to report phone scams, you can officially do it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using the link below:
How To Prevent Identity Theft and More
If you want to be the first to find out the most prevalent scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You’ll receive weekly emails – no spam. Meanwhile, educate yourself with some other fraud-related articles right under this paragraph, so that you can protect yourself in many other aspects. Last but not least, use the Comments section below to expose other scams.
Here are some must-reads for the end:
Canada Emergency Response Benefit Scam
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*Obviously* you are describing a scam. ANYTIME you are offered free money from someone you don’t know, and EVERYTIME someone asks you to cash an instrument of any kind and wire it out again, you are being scammed.
And your bank will sue you for their loss, and win.
Has anyone encountered a company called Empire Trans Capital LLC? Apparently, they are based in Philadelphia yet the employee that called me had a thick, Russian accent. The company requires Canadians to accept E-tranfers for their clients, then send money via Money Gram wire transfer.
I am NOT suggesting this is a scam but I am wondering if anyone knows about scams like these?
Just received a similar email from Meyer Doug Lewis in the amount of $1250.00 CAD. The email address associated on this occasion is abendary@link-trading.net The file attached is titled "INTERAC statement.zip" Obviously the scam is evolving.