Verizon Fails in Blocking Spam, Spoof, and Scam Phrases

Verizon is reportedly allowing its customers to receive spam messages and clickable links that are potentially a form of phishing.

Verizon customers have reported that they have been receiving harmful text messages that appear to have been sent from their own phone numbers. This practice is called spoofing.

Verizon customers have complained about receiving a spam-like text message that offers them "a little gift" for paying their phone bills. In addition, when tapping into the sender details, Verizon users will see their own phone card details.

As reported by Apple Insider, Twitter user @alex_lanstein shared the suspected phishing message on his account. As seen in the photo, they informed the user that their bill had been paid and that they would be eligible for a free gift if they clicked on the link contained within the message.

Examples of the said spam messages include "Free message," "bill is paid," and "gift," which are common phrases used by malicious threat actors to entice unsuspecting victims.

Verizon Smishing Messages

Nonetheless, Alex Lanstein pointed out on Twitter that the Spam Protection Systems at Verizon were unable to block messages containing multiple instances of these phrases in the same message.

Some users also pointed out that if they clicked on the link in the message, they would be taken to the website of Channel One Russia, a Russian state television station.

Numerous users also complained about the same thing. If they click the link, they will be redirected to similar Russian web pages as well.

However, while the links in this most recent scam appear harmless to most users, messages like these are frequently used as part of "smishing" scams, also known as text message phishing scams.

In order to gather various types of personal information, such as an individual's address, credit card information, and other details, smishing is employed.

Spam text messages (SMS spam or phishing texts) are sent by hackers to steal a user's data by providing a link that will acquire confidential information like banking details, credit card information, addresses, and even a user's social security number.

A lot of Verizon users are worried that their data will be compromised once they click the link. The users have also criticized the company for not being able to protect its wide user base.

Verizon Users Protection

Verizon users are recommended not to click any link included in the spoofed messages being sent.

Unfortunately, the number of complaints and reports about phishing both in emails and text messages has been increasing these years.

With that, users are advised to protect themselves from various spam messages. Verizon categorized in their blogpost on how to identify fake text messages, and here are some important points to remember:

• It is a spam message if the message is completely irrelevant to the user.

• It is a spam message if the message is urgent, or if the user must take immediate action.

• It is a spam message if the text message contains misspellings or bad grammar.

• It is a fake message if the text message is coming from an unfamiliar phone number or a suspicious email address, and it is causing concern.

• It is a fake message if a suspicious link has been included in the text message.