These days, scams are pretty much everywhere you look, and they target users through any means necessary. In text messages, through phone calls, via online chat forums, through emails, and the list goes on. That begs the question. Can you get hacked by replying to a text? The answer to that is no. You can’t get hacked by replying to a text. However, it is possible for the reply to lead to other, potentially more damaging outcomes. This is what you want to avoid.
Text scams, often referred to as “smishing,” are a growing issue that many Android users face on a daily basis. While replying to one of these text messages won’t directly open you up to a hack, replying can lead to a hack and potentially result in losses. The FTC reports that top text scams in 2024 resulted in over $470 million in losses. This article will help you understand what the risks are for Android users and how to protect yourself from these types of scams.
Can You Get Hacked by Responding to a Text? How text message scams actually work
Text scams don’t all operate the same way. Depending on the scammer, they may have different goals in mind, or they may stick to a single method for trying to extract information from you. Here’s what to look for so you don’t fall prey to these scams.
Social Engineering: Using human nature to manipulate targets
There are likely a lot of times when someone who might be trying to scam another person doesn’t know anything that can actually lead to a successful hack. This is where social engineering comes in. Social engineering is a common way for scammers to get information from their target that can actually help them get what they want.
The goal is to manipulate the user into giving them information, anything that might help them. These could be details that could help figure out a password, or it could be the password directly. There are also several different methods of social engineering that a scammer could employ, such as manipulating with fear (through the threat of terminating a service or incurring fines), and perhaps most commonly, by impersonating someone that you would openly give sensitive information to. Such as a bank.
Malicious links are the real danger
As mentioned before, replying to a text isn’t the real danger, but it can lead to one, and that danger is clicking on a malicious link. You absolutely want to avoid clicking a malicious link at all costs. Clicking on one of these links could lead to a number of different negative consequences, but it also depends on how the text was set up to try to convince you to click the link. For example, if it’s a text from someone pretending to be your bank, then clicking that link could lead to a fake bank website that records your login information as you type it in.
Why replying is still a bad thing
Replying simply opens you up to more scam texts. If you ignore it, there’s a good chance that the scammer will move on because they aren’t getting any responses. At that point, it becomes a waste of their time to continue trying to reach out. Replying also tells them that your number is working, and that gives them a reason to send follow-up messages. This is an annoyance you don’t want to deal with.
What are the Android-specific risks?
Android is a wonderful operating system because of its open structure and customization. Unfortunately, the open-nature of Android also means that there is more risk involved. So, Android users have to be more vigilant in protecting themselves. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the permissions you’re allowing apps access to. On top of this, you absolutely should be making sure that Google Play Protect is enabled. There’s no reason to ever turn this off.
How you can spot scam text messages
There are lots of little red flags to look for that can indicate an incoming message might be a scam. The obvious thing to do is to be immediately cautious if the message is from an unknown number. Sometimes this can be harmless, but other times it can be a scam. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
The biggest tells are things like urgency and threats. If a text message is telling you that your account or services will be shut down in 24 hours if you don’t do what it says, then there is a very good chance this is a scam. Texts offering you prizes or rewards are also often scams. Nothing in life is free, especially not prizes being offered to users through a text message for something that you probably never entered in the first place. You also want to be on the lookout for password or login requests, and URLs (links) that are oddly short. These short links can be used to hide details in the URL that could identify them as scam links.
For Android users, some common things to look out for are messages that reference Google Play alerts. For example, if a message is offering you free Google Play credits, Google’s digital currency for spending on the Play Store, this is almost certainly a scam. Bank messages can be another one here, attempting to target a user who has a particular banking app installed.
What you can do if you’ve already replied to one of these texts
If you’ve already replied to a text that you may suspect is a scam, you don’t need to panic. First, you should assess the situation and look at what you replied with. Ask yourself a few questions. Did you give out any personal information? If the answer is no, then your next course of action should be to block that number and just move on. It’s also imperative that you don’t click any links in that text if there are any. Android users also have built-in spam-reporting, and you should make sure you report the text as spam. If you did click a link, then your very next step should be to run a security scan on your device.
This is why you might want to get Surfshark VPN. It’s an all-in-one security suite that includes protection from viruses and malware. It can also block ads and minimize the amount of spam and scams you may receive. If you commonly use public networks for access to the internet, then you absolutely should be using a VPN for better protection.
Here are some ways that you can protect yourself from text scams
Protecting yourself from text scams is a lot easier than you may think. It really just requires diligence and maintaining that level of vigilance to stay ahead of the common threats. For example, ignore texts from unknown numbers. You also want to avoid clicking on links from texts that you didn’t initiate. In other words, if a text from an unsolicited number is asking you to click a link, don’t.
It’s also highly recommended that you enable two-factor authentication for every single account with a login that offers it. Most accounts do these days. Yes, this is extra work on your part to set it all up, and it’s an extra step when logging in, but it’s worth it in the long run. Additionally, you should heavily consider setting up a password manager like Bitwarden or Bitdefender to keep your passwords and logins safe. Many of the options are free, and even some of the paid options cost a relatively small amount for an annual subscription. Bitwarden, for example, is about $20 a year for all of the available protection features. That’s pretty good.
You should also ensure that spam filtering is enabled. Google Messages has this built in. Other options may as well. Lastly, don’t forget to make sure your Android operating system and apps are updated to the latest versions. This ensures you have the latest protections available to combat these types of threats.
While it can seem daunting to keep up on all these types of risks and methods of avoiding any security threats, it’s a lot easier than you think. You can secure your connection with Surfshark to protect against any threats that are internet-related. Android also has plenty of built-in protections that you should be using.
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