Beware of Fake Payment Texts: How E-Pay Scammers Try to Trick You

Electronic payments have made sending money faster than ever, and scammers have noticed. Fraudsters are now impersonating banks and payment apps through text messages that look almost identical to legitimate alerts.

How the Scam Works

You might get a text saying, “Your recent payment failed - click here to verify,” or “Your account has been locked due to unusual activity.” The link leads to a page that looks like your bank or payment app login screen. Once you enter your credentials, scammers gain access to your accounts or create fraudulent transfers in your name.

These scams are often well-timed, arriving just after you’ve made a real payment or received a legitimate text alert, making them harder to spot.

How to Tell the Difference

Real institutions don’t ask for personal or account information through text messages. Scams often include small red flags: generic greetings, shortened links, misspellings, or sender numbers that don’t match your previous alerts.

How to Stay Safe

If you get a suspicious payment text, don’t click the link. Instead, open your banking app or type your bank’s web address directly into your browser to verify your account.

You can also forward suspicious texts to 7726 (SPAM) to report them to your carrier. And remember that First Federal will never ask for account numbers, PINs, or passwords via text.