Rant: My mom almost clicked a fake bank link from a text

She got a text yesterday saying her account was locked. It looked real. She called me, almost ready to tap the link. I told her to check the sender number. It was a random string, not her bank's real short code. She would have typed her login into a fake site. Made me realize how easy it is to trick anyone. What's the best way you teach family to spot these scams?

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3 Comments

elizabeth4386mo ago

Ugh, my dad almost fell for the same thing... I made him a rule: if any message says "urgent" or "locked account", he has to close the text and call the bank directly using the number on the back of his card. We practiced it a few times. It's the only thing that stuck.

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the_julia6mo ago

It's wild how many scams rely on manufactured panic.

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kai_bennett6mo ago

Totally. I got a call last week saying my social security number was "linked to a crime scene" and I almost laughed. @elizabeth438 has the right idea with that rule. I've started doing the same thing, just hanging up and calling the real number myself. The fake urgency is always the giveaway.

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