Phishing and Smishing and Skimming and Shimming

LANSING – As the NFL Draft gets ready to electrify fans across Detroit, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging consumers to be on guard against scammers targeting their excitement.

“Hosting an event of this stature is exciting for the city of Detroit, Detroit businesses, football fans, and the State at large,” Nessel said. “Sadly, these large-scale events are also a breeding ground for scams, and bad actors will likely try just about anything to scam you out of your hard-earned money.”

Scammers may employ various tactics to steal personal information and financial data. Phishing emails and smishing texts, for example, may appear to be from legitimate sources like the NFL, containing links that lead to fake websites designed to steal login credentials, credit card details, or other sensitive information.

If consumers receive a suspicious email or text, they should:

• Not download any attachments in the message. Attachments may contain malware such as viruses, worms, or spyware.
• Not click links that appear in the message. Links in phishing messages direct consumers to fraudulent websites.
• Not reply to the sender. Ignore any requests from the sender and do not call any phone numbers provided in the message.
• Report it. Forward suspected phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group. Consumers who receive a smishing text message should forward it to SPAM (7726), then report the smishing attack to the FTC.

If consumers receive a suspicious phone call that seems to be a phishing attempt, they are advised to:

• Hang up or end the call. Be aware that area codes can be misleading. If their caller ID displays a local area code, this does not guarantee that the caller is local.
• Not respond to the caller’s requests. Legitimate companies will never call consumers to request personal information. Never give personal information to the incoming caller.

The Attorney General also advises attendees to be on the lookout for those attempting to steal their credit card information through ATMs by skimming and shimming.

Consumers can avoid becoming a victim by:

• Using cash whenever possible.
• Examining their bank/credit card statements often and looking for any unauthorized charges.
• Trying not to use stand-alone ATMs like those found in convenience stores. These machines are not as well-maintained or secure as bank ATMs.
• Covering the PIN pad with their hands as they type in their PIN. This may not prevent their card data from being collected and used at point-of-sale terminals, but it may prevent criminals from emptying their bank accounts since they do not have their PINs.