" If you receive a text message requesting that you follow a link , ignore it — at least until you ' ve confirmed whether or not it ' s legitimate by contacting the company in question ," Brook said . " Inspect the sender ' s phone number — unknown numbers or 11-digit long numbers starting with a local area code are often associated with scam texts . Large institutions will generally send text messages from short-code numbers ." Scam and fraud attacks can also be carried out through phone calls , although this type of attack typically targets older adults . You should always be careful about sharing your personal information via phone call , especially if the caller claims to be from a government agency or a financial institute such as your bank , and demands either payment or your bank account details .
Phone calls purporting to be from your bank or HM Revenue and Customs , for example , where the caller is asking for money or your personal information – such as passwords , codes or bank details – are usually scams . If you actually owe the government money because you have been avoiding paying your taxes , they will contact you via other methods . Key to remember , however , is that regulated institutions of every type will never ring , text or email you to ask for official or personal information . " If there is ever any doubt about the legitimacy of a phone call you receive , just hang up ," Brook continued . " Call back the company that the person is claiming to be from directly on a phone number you know and trust .
" Similarly , if you receive a suspicious email requesting you call a number , call the organisation directly via a trusted phone number that you ' ve sourced from their website , rather than the phone number provided in the suspicious email ."
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