Fido

FidoStephane

SMS Spam B.png

Hey Community!

Getting tired of those pesky scam text messages filled with nonsense and malicious intent? We call that Smishing (sms + fishing), and just like you, we’re getting pretty fed up with it.

Smishers use text messages to scam you into giving up your personal or financial information, usually by inviting you to a visit a website or call a phone number. These can be difficult to identify given how little text there is, but if you take a closer look it’s easier to detect the deception.

Here are some tips to avoid being duped by these scammers:

Be wary of requests for personal information

If you get a text that states “this is from Fido Your account has been compromised, click here to confirm your information”, it’s a scam. We don’t do that.

Most legit businesses don’t use emails, SMS or pop-ups when gathering personal information. And they won’t direct you to a shady URL to enter your personal info, either.

Watch for alarmists

If you get offered lottery-sized payouts for a little bit of information, or you’re told that babies or puppies are going to suffer if you don’t share your information, it’s a scam.

Look for typos in URLs or email addresses

Scam artists will often register domains with minor variations on actual domain names, like www.ffido.ca.

Take your time to read the SMS so you detect the deceptive tactics.

Stay informed

Learn more about detecting fraud and keeping yourself and friends aware. Here are some sites to check out:

UPDATE: As of March, 2017, customers can send any spam SMS they receive to 7726 (SPAM). This will submit the message to be audited then blocked from the Fido network. This can be easily done on most devices by pressing and holding the body of the message, then press the forward button and send to 7726. No additional charges apply for using this service.

Have any other tips? Please share them in the comments below, and don’t forget to share this article. If you're receiving these types of message, please share them on this thread started by @Cawtau.

Check out this page to read up on other types of scams. Gotta be in the know!

Cheers!

-FidoStephane

Anonymous

That is great advice, thank you FidoStephane for the advice. I also have one piece of advice to add to that. If someone gets an unsolicit phone call or text message from a possible Smishing or Fishing or Telemarketer, or Fraudster, try NOT to post the telephone number publically. A lot of people Post the numbers they receive in other posts on this very forums and I think it could be very bad and breaching peoples personal privacy.

You need to be aware that the con-artists are disguising their phone number and the number displayed on your phone may actually belong to an innocent Fido customer who has no idea that their number is being used. What I want to avoid is having angry people who read the post and then happen to Call or Text the number that was posted publically and start bad mouthing the person, who probably has no idea what you are talking about. If that was my number someone posted and said they are receiving annoying texts from I'd be pist. First because I know I would not do sucha thing, and secondly, I would not want people to read the number and call back and harass me for something I have no idea about.

FidoStephane

Excellent advice Paolo! Thanks!

razzda

terrifc advice but useless, please employ your massive resources to PREVENT the texts from entering the system!

FidoTerry

Welcome to the community @razzda!

We do have a team that works on making sure the texts don't reach our customers but it can be a bit tricky due to several aspects ( number changes, link changes, etc ).

The tips and tricks we gave can also be applied to any other spam you get. As always, the most important part is to be informed, alert and vigilant.

Roman3

I'm receiving unsolicited text messages on my iPhone. The "block this number" setting in my Messages app seems to be disabled somehow by this poster; it will not work. Apple Customer Service tells me I need to ask my service provider to make the blockage work. Please advise.

FidoTerry

Welcome to the community @Roman3!

This is the first time I hear about this issue. The block is made on the phone itself so you shouldn't need an approval from us. Does the feature work with other numbers?

Roman3

@FidoTerry, the block feature in my app works with all undesireable numbers, except from this one particular sender. The only way I can get rid of their message is by manually deleting it every time I get one.

FidoMegan

Hey @Roman3

Is the message coming from a a 10 digit phone number or from a short code number?

Roman3

@FidoMegan, I deleted manually the latest message some days ago, so I cannot check its fomat directly. If memory serves, it was a 10-digit number. When I went to my Settings and entered that number for blocking, in the same way as I had previously done (successfully) for unsolicited messages from other sources, my entering it had no effect.

FidoTerry

@Roman3 since the message is now deleted, we won't be able to troubleshoot the issue. If you see any more examples of this, let us know and we'll look into it.

CPrime

Really good advice. Appreciate the share! Some scams are very convincing and take a sharp eye to spot! Typos are the best one to look for😁

Roman3

@FidoTerry here is the number of the party that I wish to block in my messages app: (305) 050 01. He/it has sent a new message. Can you help with this?

FidoAmanda

Hey Roman3!

Please forward the SMS to 7726 (SPAM), to register it for investigation and blocking from our network. (This can be done on most devices by opening the message, pressing and holding the body of the message, then press the forward button and send to 7726).

seanriddolls

"Forward [spam] SMS to 7726 (SPAM), to register it for investigation and blocking from our network."

Mod. AmandaN has offered the first pro-active / most useful piece of advice in this thread.

Why is the 7726 link not item #1 in the article?
(rather than buried in the comments at the very bottom)

I arrived at this page from a Fido sponsored Facebook link entitled:
"Getting sketchy texts from unknown numbers? Find out what to do in the Community."

I already know what to 'look out' for -- I came here to find out what I can do about it.

I recomend the 7726 Spam Investigation & Blocking link be included in the intro of your article.

- Sean

FidoTerry

Welcome to the community @seanriddolls! Thanks for the feedback, we'll see what we can do about it.

Lison12

I am usually very careful, but I am ashamed to say that I got caught last Thursday. I had just arrived in New York City, was helping my husband navigate his way through the trafic, and was expecting an important phone call when I got a text message telling me that my online account had been blocked. I didn't pick up on the word "online" and got very nervous at the thought that my phone wouldn't work out of the country and I would miss the call I was expecting. I therefore followed the link to what looked like a legitimate Fido page and provided the information required: name, phone number, password, PIN, and date of birth. I didn't get any confirmation after I submitted the information, so I called Fido to make sure that my account was not blocked. That's when I found out that it was a scam.

I immediately changed my password, but I am still not reassured. I did report this to the Canadian Antifraud Centre and I just copied and sent the message to 7726 (didn't get the option to forward it), but is there anything else I should do? How could the information I provided be used by the authors of this scam?

FidoTerry

Welcome to the community @Lison12! No need to be ashamed, it can happen to everyone hence why we created this blog. To answer your questions:

1) You can contact our customer service here so we can add a 4 digit PIN on your account. That way only you will know the code. Of course it will be important not to use the same PIN you gave on the fraudulent site.

2) After getting your passwords or credentials, they can go online or contact us to place a phone order. Awesome thinking on changing your online password.

Lcyg

Fraud/scam? Impersonating Fido....

FidoKenny

Salut @Lcyg

Je peux confirmer que ce n'est pas de Fido.

Vous pouvez suivre les instructions de ce blogue afin qu'on puisse auditer ce message.

ergognome

Just got a text reportedly from FIDO saying that my account will be disabled in 24 hours unless I follow a link to

http://d0fs-verices.intro-veric.com/dofisad/deactivated-account.php

I assumed that this is a phish. So beware of it

Fido

Are you receiving scam text messages? Here are 4 things to look out for