Text message scams are nothing new and we have seen them rise in Australia over the past few years. But now they have been taken up a notch with scammers now targeting encrypted messaging app Signal. I’ve gotten two so far.
Signal scam texts are impersonating Amazon
It’s unclear when these scam texts started, but I received the first one on March 18. The scammers use a version of the Amazon logo as well as the name to impersonate the company.
“Amazon: Your Order Was Delivered. Your Order: iPhone 12 Pro – 128GB – Black,” the text read. It was followed by a link that I sure as hell wasn’t going to click.
But things seems to have escalated this week with a second text that also dangled an iPhone shaped carrot as incentive to click. This time, it was claiming that I had won a device.
“Congratulations your Amazon account has been selected to receive an iPhone 12Pro [sic], click here to receive it now,” it read.
And I am not the only one. Signal users from Australia and other countries have taken to social media with screenshots and descriptions of similar iPhone text message scam — all sent from different numbers.
There is also at least one thread dedicated to the scams on the r/Signal subreddit.
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At the present time there is no way to report shady or abusive texts via the Signal app. The only options for unsolicited messages from unknown numbers is to accept, delete or block them.
Gizmodo Australia has reached out to Signal for comment. At the time of writing the company doesn’t seem to have acknowledged the scam texts publicly. Gizmodo has also approached Amazon for comment.
What to do if you’ve been targeted
If you have been the victim of a scam, head over to Scamwatch for advice and resources. You can also report scams there as well. Always remember to never click on links in suspicious text messages or emails from people you don’t know.