This information is used to carry out other crimes, such as financial fraud.
The criminals want to receive personally identifiable information (PII) about the victim such as: account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information.
USPS utilizes the 5-digit short codes to send and receive SMS to and from mobile phones. These scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims. Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message that is intended to lure the recipient into providing their personal or financial information. Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. Have you received unsolicited mobile text messages with an unfamiliar or strange web link that indicates a USPS delivery requires a response from you? If you never signed up for a USPS tracking request for a specific package, then don’t click the link! This type of text message is a scam called smishing.
