In a recent cybersecurity scam, smartphone users received a text from an unknown number with a message claiming a friend has written a compliment about them in a new app, according to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.
The text message contains a link that prompts them to download the specific app on their phone. There may be hundreds of glowing reviews for the app online, but beware.
In the fine print, downloading the app automatically grants access to contacts and all saved numbers. The app then perpetuates its number trolling activity by sending all contacts the same invitation.
While the scam itself poses minimal immediate danger, it allows fraudsters to access the person’s phone to steal contacts and build a list of phone numbers that the scammer can later sell on the black market for future scam targets, AARP warns.
Anyone who receives a text message prompting them to download an app like this should delete the message, AARP Fraud Watch Network said.
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