Dear Neighbors,
I just wanted to reach out quickly to alert you to a scam text sent to our area that you should be sure to ignore. If you receive a text message like this one:
Do NOT click any of the links! Immediately delete the text message and report the message as spam/junk. The scammers are trying to gain access to your financial account information so they can empty your bank accounts. A similar scam that’s going around involves a text message indicating that you have an unpaid road toll – don’t click on that one, either!
A dead giveaway that this message is a scam is that it’s coming from a phone number that begins with “63” which is the country code for the Philippines.
State agencies will never send you a text message requesting your financial account information or requesting payment.
Software updates
If you're being prompted directly by Apple, Microsoft, etc. on your smart phone or personal computer to upgrade/patch the operating system or web browser on your smart phone or personal computer apply those upgrades/patches right away. These prompts will not come in the form of an email or text – they’ll be generated from the device/application, itself.
A recent high profile cyber attack in Minnesota revealed a new way for hackers to get into our systems, and some of these upgrades/patches are designed to protect you from this new vulnerability.
Keep in Touch
Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 50B
Minnesota House of Representatives
rep.steve.elkins@house.mn.gov