topic Re: Just received a scam message, but it wasn't an SMS. What was it? in Android

Just received a scam message, but it wasn't an SMS. What was it?

Fruit_Bowl — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:04:54 GMT

I'm a pay-monthly O2 customer with a Huawei P10 running Android 8.

Just now my phone beeped and the notification icon for messages appeared, but when I unlocked it the message appeared at the bottom of the screen without waiting for me to go into the Messaging app. It was one of the obvious "Lloyd's bank" scams (I'm not with them and never have been), claiming something had been set up and if it wasn't right I should visit an obvious fraudulent URL. The message had OK and cancel buttons, so I pressed cancel. It disappeared and it's not there in my SMS list, and I can find no trace of it anywhere.

It wasn't an SMS, and not from any of my other messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Signal. What type of message could this have been? Is there a known exploit hijacking the emergency messaging service in older Android distros, or something?

Re: Just received a scam message, but it wasn't an SMS. What was it?

Bambino — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 14:52:00 GMT

@Fruit_Bowl That sounds like a new one. Not heard of that before. You shouldn't have clicked on anything within the message. Change your password to be on the safe side, and keep an eye on your bank statement for anything unusual. Also take a look at the links below:

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/phishing-and-smishing-advice
https://www.o2.co.uk/help/safety-and-security/unwanted-calls-and-messages
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Re: Just received a scam message, but it wasn't an SMS. What was it?

Cleoriff — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:20:41 GMT

New to me as well @Fruit_Bowl

Follow the advice given above by @Bambino

Re: Just received a scam message, but it wasn't an SMS. What was it?

MI5 — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 18:15:08 GMT

@Fruit_Bowl

Could be "Airpush"

Usually used for advertising but potentially can be used for scams too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airpush