![]() “It’s not a Sakari thing,” Lucky225 replied when first approached for more details. He said Sakari is just one part of a much larger, unregulated industry that can be used to hijack SMS messages for many phone numbers. Lucky225, who is chief information officer for Okey Systems, told KrebsOnSecurity that Sakari has since taken steps to block its service for being used with mobile telephone numbers. Sakari’s LOA says that the user should not conduct any unlawful, harassing, or inappropriate behavior with the text messaging service and phone number.īut as Lucky225 showed, a user can just sign up with someone else’s number and receive their text messages instead. While adding a number, Sakari provides the Letter of Authorization for the user to sign. Lucky225 provided Motherboard with screenshots of Sakari’s interface, which show a red “+” symbol where users can add a number. The cheapest plan, which allows customers to add a phone number they want to send and receive texts as, is where the $16 goes. Sakari offers a free trial to anyone wishing to see what the company’s dashboard looks like. It cost just $16, and there was precious little to prevent someone from stealing your text messages without your knowledge. The “how they did it” was sickeningly simple. Lucky225 showed how anyone could do the same after creating an account at a service called Sakari, a company that helps celebrities and businesses do SMS marketing and mass messaging. Security researcher “ Lucky225” worked with ’s Joseph Cox to intercept Cox’s incoming text messages with his permission. ![]() Now we’re learning about an entire ecosystem of companies that anyone could use to silently intercept text messages intended for other mobile users. ![]() Amazon suggests visiting the company's " Report Something Suspicious" page on its customer service section, where you can report any texts, e-mails or phone calls you've received that you suspect didn't actually come from Amazon.SMS text messages were already the weakest link securing just about anything online, mainly because there are tens of thousands of employees at mobile stores who can be tricked or bribed into swapping control over a mobile phone number to someone else. If the suspected scammer is claiming to be representing a specific company like Amazon or a government entity, you can also try reporting the attempt to the actual organization. Unfortunately, some scammers use different numbers or addresses for each message they send, leaving you playing a game of virtual Whack-a-Mole, constantly blocking suspicious numbers and e-mails as the scammers cycle through new ones.Īt that point, consider reporting the spam and phishing attempts to your wireless carrier or e-mail service, along with government agencies - including the FTC's online fraud complaint form and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also manage your phone's filters to weed out calls or texts from unknown numbers. The simplest way to stop receiving suspicious messages is to block the phone numbers or email addresses that are messaging you. If you have any doubt over a particular text or e-mail's legitimacy, the FTC advises you to contact the company or institution's "verifiable customer service line." Visit the company's website to find a valid contact number or e-mail address, rather than responding to the message you've received. So to be extra cautious, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends that you "never share your personal or financial information via email, text messages, or over the phone." How to block and report spammers In some cases, they even mimic your own number, making it seem like you're calling or texting yourself. Many scammers rely on " spoofing," a practice that tricks your phone's Caller ID into thinking you're getting a text or call from someone you trust. The company says that if you're suspicious about a message requesting updated payment information, you should go to your online Amazon account's "Your Orders" page. "If you aren't prompted to update your payment method on that screen, the message isn't from Amazon," the company says. The company says that red flags include order confirmations for items you didn't order and messages with grammatical errors or prompts to install software.
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