Fake SMS opened: What to do?

If you have received and opened a fake SMS, you should act as soon as possible. Do not click on any links contained in it under any circumstances.

Fake SMS opened: This is what you should do

If you have received a fake SMS and opened it for reading only, you do not need to do anything. You should act only after you have pressed the link and possibly revealed personal information.

• Change your passwords immediately if you have entered your login details for a service. If you no longer have access to your accounts, contact the support of the respective platform.

• If you use the same email address and password combination on other sites and services, you should also change them for security. While you’re at it, consider setting up two-factor authentication for added security.

• In most cases, such scams will ask you to provide your bank or credit card information. If you have done so, report the incident directly to your bank. This way you can protect your money by blocking your cards.

• If you have disclosed your personal information such as first and last name, date of birth, address or ID number, you should contact the police. Here is the risk that the scammers can use your identity in further crimes.

• If you have provided your phone number and address, you may be contacted frequently by scammers in the coming period. For this reason, you should be careful with unknown numbers or spam emails, among others.

More security measures: What else you should do

By accessing links or documents, scammers can secretly install apps on your smartphone. Usually, the programs run unnoticed in the background and collect personal data.

• First of all, you often need to find the hidden app in order to uninstall it. When doing so, you should use your smartphone in flight mode and prevent further data transfers. If you do not get the app deleted directly, restart your Android smartphone in safe mode.

• Should you have opened the link on your computer, check running processes in the background with Task Manager. If you notice any process, stop them directly and uninstall the program.

• Also, run your antivirus program to remove Trojans, for example.

• If your smartphone or computer continues to show abnormalities in use, consider resetting it to factory settings.

• Finally, you can report the incident on the Federal Network Agency website.