There’s been a pickup in online shopping scams during the month of August, with almost half of the SMS scams detected being allocated to this category. We’ve seen scammers now implement an OPT OUT or STOP link to try dupe unsuspecting victims into stopping the scam messages. However, these links are also fraudulent and contain phishing traps or malware behind them. As always, its best to not respond or click on anything pertaining to a scam. Remember, cyber criminals often create a sense of urgency to trick you. Don’t let the pressure to act quickly influence your decisions – be cautious!

In recent years, there’s been a significant rise in car and truck lottery giveaways. Like a traditional lottery, you can purchase multiple entries for a chance to win. However, scammers have started to exploit this trend by sending messages that falsely claim to be from legitimate lottery organisations. With many new organisations emerging, it can be challenging to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent ones. We recommend exercising caution around brands you are unfamiliar with and checking for official websites that display past winners. Most reputable sites will showcase their past prizes or prize winners for example, you can see previous winners at LMCT Plus.

In the past, scammers have deceived taxpayers by pretending to offer tax refunds, fraudulent request verification’s, or fake penalties for late or unpaid taxes. Although these types of SMS scams are still circulating, we’ve recently observed a rise in scams specifically targeting the lodging of tax returns on myGov. This comes as no surprise as most individuals lodge their tax returns in this time. Remember, myGov will never create a sense of urgency in their communications or ask for passwords or sensitive personal details. They will also never demand immediate payment or threaten legal action via SMS. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from myGov, verify its authenticity by visiting the official website or using the app.