One of the most popular tools used by scammers today is the use of text messages. This practice is known as “smishing” and has caused a lot of pain and suffering to many people in recent years. Now there is a new smishing scam impersonating the U.S. Postal Service and officials are warning people to be cautious.

The United State Postal Inspection Service, a division of the U.S. Postal Service, has released a video warning Americans about a new attempt to steal your identity using your own device. These scammers send you a variety of messages to get you to click on the link contained within, and this can get you in a lot of trouble.

So what is the motivation behind these hacker attacks? The USPS says:

The criminals want to obtain personally identifiable information (PII) about the victim, such as account usernames and passwords, social security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information. This information is used to commit other crimes, such as financial fraud.

The scammers disguise themselves as government agencies to give credibility to the victims.

What can you do to prevent an attack on your identity and personal information? The USPS has provided the following tips, which you should follow closely.

• Think
• Do not reply
• report
• Delete
• Block spam messages
• Treat your personal information like cash
• Check your cell phone bill
• Provision of security updates

To report USPS smishing, follow these steps in an email to [email protected].

• Copy the text of the suspicious text message without clicking the web link and paste it into a new email.
• Include your name in the email and attach a screenshot of the text message showing the sender’s phone number and the date it was sent.
• Include all relevant details in your email, such as whether you clicked on the link, whether you lost money, whether you provided personal information, or whether your credit or identity was affected.
• The Postal Inspection Service will contact you if further information is required.
• Forward the smishing/text message to 7726 (this will help report the fraudulent phone number).

Scammers are constantly changing their tactics and strategy to keep you and the authorities at a distance. Do your best to avoid becoming another statistic who falls victim to identity theft and other consequences when you click on a link.

Below you can see warning videos from the USPS