Teach Kids How to Sniff Out Card Phishing Scams

Have you coached your kids to be on the lookout for sketchy calls, text messages, emails, and sites?

Unfortunately, advanced AI technologies are escalating the frequency and sophistication of phishing attacks. Your kid’s cards are in the crosshairs.

This classic example of a phishing text landed on my phone just the other day:

“Attention: your package has safely arrived at our storage station. We regret to inform you it has been there for over 24 hours due to a delivery problem. Our personnel tried delivery, but the address label was compromised during transit. To proceed, please follow the link below to update your address information within the next hour: https://sketchyurl Your package will be delivered within 12 hours once you have updated your address.”

It’s a variation of the “Fake USPS” scam that has been lighting up cell phones across the country. The embedded link leads to an official looking site where cardholders unwittingly cough up their card info to perform “verification” or pay for a bogus package delivery. Fraudulent charges soon follow.

We noticed a pattern earlier this year in which young cardholders who had fallen for the fake delivery scam would see a declined attempt from “DAISY SMS WHITE PLAINS USA” in their transaction history. That attempt would be followed by attempts from a variety of different merchants as the fraudsters hammered away at the funds on the card.

To keep your kid’s funds safe from phishing fraudsters:

1. Educate your kids about the classic tells of a phishing scam:
   • Unfamiliar sender or site. Phishing attacks often originate from unknown numbers or email addresses and sites that have very subtle differences from legitimate ones, so it’s easy to be fooled at a glance.
   • Urgency. Phishing attacks usually demand immediate attention and proclaim dire consequences for inaction (“your account will be deactivated!”) or unrealistic rewards for action (“you’ll win a $1,000 gift card!”).
   • Requests for sensitive information or payment. Phishing attacks may demand payment to others or solicit sensitive personal or financial information.
   • Attachments. Phishing attacks may prompt you to open up an attached file that silently installs malware on your device.
2. Ask first. Agree on a communication policy before your child supplies card info to anyone new. A brief conversation with mom or dad will catch 99.9% of all phishing attempts.
3. Monitor card activity for unexpected transactions in case something still slips through your family’s phishing filter. Turn on real-time card activity alerts to catch them as quickly as possible. Do not assume a card is safe just because an unrecognized transaction declines. It’s often just the precursor to subsequent card draining transactions.

   👉 How to turn on card activity alerts.

   👉 How to see declined purchase attempts.

4. Lock the card immediately at the first whiff of a phishing attack to protect the funds while you investigate further with your family. If it turns out to be a red herring like a harmless decline from a trusted merchant, you can unlock the card.

   👉 How to lock and unlock a card.

5. Replace the card if you believe the card info may have been phished.

   👉 How to order a replacement card.

If something smells phishy on your child’s card, contact us. We’ll help you get to the bottom of it.