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One of the Many Scams Impersonating the Trump Campaign.

/ Sarah Collins / Leave a comment

This text message is a scam.

Why do I believe this? By, looking at the domain registration on https://www.whois.com/whois. Most reputable sites would not have all of its data “REDATED FOR PRIVACY”.

They made the text message look very legit, by referencing my name, including a Contact card for a “Donald Trump”. From media reports he lives in Florida, after moving there from New York. Why would he have a cellphone for a Massachusetts area code?

Lastly, the text message makes little sense. “PLEASE” and “I’ll let you judge.”? Let me judge what? I would have to answer a survey for my answer to a question to change. Surveys, just want to gather more data about you to sell to other entities.

Parcel Scam Alert

/ Sarah Collins / Leave a comment

Below is a text I received on Christmas Eve, and it is a scam! Either they were phishing for information or worst:

+1 (402) 378-1378

Parcel Tracking: Hi, your package with tracking number ZZBURAHH is waiting for you to check the shipment address: spreadbrief.com/DemUgCq

It looked like it could have been legit with the a few problems:

  1. I never get text message starting in +1. I believe that to use +1 the message was probably sent from another country.
  2. I never seen a tracking number like “ZZBURAHH”. Personally, to me it sounds like “Brouhaha”
  3. I was only expecting packages from UPS or USPS.

First, I did a web search on the number. The results did not return any legitimate businesses. If a legit company was going to text me, I would expect to find their business on the web searching by their phone number.

Next I used WHOIS to look up the domain and I found problems:

  1. The domain was created the same day the text was sent.
  2. The domain owner was in another country.
  3. Most of the contact information on the domain was redacted for privacy. If you look at a legit company’s domain registration, such as UPS, they provide a mailing address and phone number.

Lastly, I emailed the text to myself and reported it to the domain provider. On WHOIS an email address is provided to report abuse.

Recommendation: Never click on a link you receive in a text or email.