My cousin in Phoenix got a weird text about a package and almost clicked

She got a text saying her FedEx delivery needed an address update with a link, and she was about to tap it because she was expecting a real package. I told her to check the sender number, and it was from a random 10-digit number, not a short code like real alerts. She checked her actual FedEx account and there was no issue, so it was just a phishing attempt. Anyone else deal with these fake delivery texts lately and have a good way to spot them?

4 comments

4 Comments

laura_chen413mo ago

Actually think you might be overreacting a bit here. Lots of legit businesses use regular ten digit numbers for texts now, not just short codes. I've gotten real alerts from my pharmacy and even my doctor's office from a normal looking number. If she was truly expecting a package, clicking to check the link isn't always crazy, you just have to be smart about what info you put in. Telling people to never click anything just makes them ignore all messages, even the important ones.

angelarivera3mo ago

Laura_chen41 has a point about real businesses texting, but telling people to just be smart is like telling someone not to fall off a bike. Most folks just aren't checking the url that close before they click, especially when they're expecting something. The safe bet is still to open the actual app yourself.

lucash533mo ago

Honestly the whole panic over clicking a link feels overblown sometimes. If you're already logged into the real app or website, checking a link isn't an instant hack. The real problem is when people type their info into a fake page. Just looking at a url doesn't mean you got scammed.

nelson.vera2mo ago

Wait, have you ever been so sure you were being smart that you walked right into a dumb mistake? I once got a text about a package I was actually waiting for, clicked the link, and then spent ten minutes squinting at the url like a detective before I even realized I wasn't on the real site lol. So yeah, clicking might not be the instant hack, but it sure is the first step to me almost typing my password into "amaz0n-security-login.biz".