The Bossier Financial Crimes Task Force is warning residents about phishing texts reported in the area. The bogus text messages appear to be from the recipients’ bank or credit card company and may even include some of the numbers from their account. The fake text messages indicate that there is a problem with the account, request that the card holder call a phone number or click on a link, and then may ask for the PIN to the bank card or other personal information such as a social security number. Detectives remind the public that banks will never ask customers for personal identification numbers (PINs).
If you are unsure of whether a message is fake, contact your bank directly, NOT through the suspicious text.
Phishing is a common practice in which criminals attempt to gain personal information from a person by posing as a legitimate entity over the phone, by email, or by text. The personal information could potentially be used to steal from that person.
The picture is an example of a phishing text that was reported to the Bossier Financial Crimes Task Force.