New fake refund text scam hits Mississauga and Brampton

Yet another scam text, this time promising an unspecified refund, is making the rounds in Brampton and Mississauga today.

The new text is the third to send cell phones ringing in Peel in the past few weeks after a text claiming to be from TD and another claiming a lottery win on October 3.

This one doesn’t specify where the money is supposed to come from but does say there is a deposit waiting for the receiver. The text reads “We were not able to give your 331.88 before hand. Reply Y.” [sic]

The scam is only the latest in a long line of fake texts over the last few months. After the earlier texts claiming to be from TD, the banking giant referred to these texts as “smishing,” a portmanteau of short messaging service (SMS) and phishing. They warned residents not to answer any suspicious texts like this.

Once answered the messages continue in an effort to extract personal information from the victim such as names, addresses, birth dates, social insurance numbers, and credit card or banking information.

Many of these messages can contain small bits of genuine information such as a name or account number to seem more legitimate. This has prompted warnings from Peel Regional Police to never respond to them.