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San Diegans fall for smishing
Fake texts from post office, Fastrak, actor Keanu Reeves impersonator
Manongdo prefers to avoid the stop-and-go traffic from 805 to Eastlake.
During the busy holiday season, smishing and scammer texts reached cell phones throughout San Diego County. Locals received messages from individuals pretending to be actor Keanu Reeves, FasTrak toll road employees, Amazon representatives, and U.S. Postal Service workers.
Smishing is "a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number," warns the USPS website, adding that "this type of text message is a scam." This scam targets individuals with fraudulent text messages designed to trick them into divulging personal or financial information.
On January 4, I received a smishing text from the Philippines, supposedly from the postal service. The message stated, "Our staff was unable to deliver your package on time because the address information was incomplete. Please complete it within the next 24 hours," and included a hyperlink.
This text seemed plausible, as my household had ordered dozens of items online since the beginning of Christmas, and we had some missing parcels.
The text provided a web address — not a live link, one I could click to visit a website. At a glance, it appeared believable since the link ended in "US." However, after texting and direct messaging others, I managed to reread the rest of the faux-USPS text: "Please reply Y, then exit the text message, reopen the text activation link, or copy the link to Safari browser to open it, and get the latest logistics status. Thank you for choosing the USPS team." I didn't reply.
Warren Manongdo from National City received the exact text and knew it was fake immediately. "If it were real, they would say USPS, their website, phone number and the department — not just 'USPS Team.'" He also noted that "USPS would know the minute they print the shipping address it was incomplete."
Manongdo, myself, and most San Diegans who received similar USPS texts didn't reply. However, some people in San Diego County did respond and shared their experiences online but did not reply to my reporter's inquiry via direct message.
TikTok influencer Mimi Tijernia from Texas spoke about what happened when she clicked "Y" on the smishing fake USPS text stating that her package couldn't get through U.S. customs. Her December 30 TikTok post, which went viral and helped some San Diegans avoid the scam, garnered more than 100,000 likes as this story goes to print. Like me, Tijernia said the text made sense since she had yet to receive a parcel from overseas. She responded, "Y," and the scammers sent her a link to a faux but realistic-looking USPS website stating, "Please enter your correct address." After entering her address, she was prompted to the next page, which requested her credit card, stating they would only charge 1 cent. The text then said, "This card is not supported by this app." So Tijernia entered another credit card number and later went to the post office to discover it was a scam. "I checked my business account and they done took $500," she explained. "Then they're like gonna take small amounts, and they are going to take it at different times. They took a total of $700 from me." She posted screenshots of the faux text, similar to the one I received, and warned her viewers not to fall for the same smishing. "Y'all, just be careful."
On December 29, I received a text from people pretending to be FasTrak, also from a number in the Philippines. I hadn't driven on the 20-mile I-15 Express Lanes between the 78 in Escondido and 163 in San Diego for a while, so I questioned why FasTrak, the toll booth service company, would text me.
I went online to investigate and saw hundreds of people in San Diego County who received similar texts, warning each other about the FasTrak scam.
Manongdo, from above, received a text from the fake FasTrak scammers and didn't fall for it because of the same +63 country code and the statement "to avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action."
Manongdo happily pays for the South Bay toll roads from the 125 to the 54 or 905 because he drives a high-powered Toyota MR2 Turbo and prefers to avoid the stop-and-go traffic from 805 to Eastlake. "One more thing about the fake text: FasTrak would've sent me actual snail mail, not a text. Like, how would FasTrak get my phone number through my license plate when they could just run my plate and get my address?"
Local Todd C. said he was "taken" by the FasTrak smishing text. "I happened to have gone through a toll road up in Northern California, then got the text two or three days later," he explained. "I thought, wow, they must have gotten my number from the rental car company." Todd clicked the link in the text, entered his credit card number, and "two weeks later, unauthorized charges at a Walmart" appeared on his bank statement. Luckily, his bank covered the illegal charges. "I am usually pretty wise on not clicking links, etc., but the timing caught me."
Then there's a celebrity texting scam going around.
Catherine Goodson, a 67-year-old widow from Vista, was deceived by scammers posing as actor Keanu Reeves through text messages, which led her to lose her life savings and ultimately live in her car—as reported on NBC 7 News on Christmas Day.
Over two years, Goodson sent tens of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin, gift cards, and wire transfers in the hope of genuine love with the actor. Reflecting on her experience, she said, "I was lonely," and admitted, "I wasn't maybe listening to the warning signs, and I don't blame anybody but myself."
The news report added that in 2023, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office reported that romance scams siphoned off $1.3 million from San Diego County locals who believed they had found love online.
Here's something you might be interested in.
San Diegans fall for smishing
Fake texts from post office, Fastrak, actor Keanu Reeves impersonator
San Diegans fall for smishing
Fake texts from post office, Fastrak, actor Keanu Reeves impersonator
Manongdo prefers to avoid the stop-and-go traffic from 805 to Eastlake.
During the busy holiday season, smishing and scammer texts reached cell phones throughout San Diego County. Locals received messages from individuals pretending to be actor Keanu Reeves, FasTrak toll road employees, Amazon representatives, and U.S. Postal Service workers.
Smishing is "a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number," warns the USPS website, adding that "this type of text message is a scam." This scam targets individuals with fraudulent text messages designed to trick them into divulging personal or financial information.
On January 4, I received a smishing text from the Philippines, supposedly from the postal service. The message stated, "Our staff was unable to deliver your package on time because the address information was incomplete. Please complete it within the next 24 hours," and included a hyperlink.
This text seemed plausible, as my household had ordered dozens of items online since the beginning of Christmas, and we had some missing parcels.
The text provided a web address — not a live link, one I could click to visit a website. At a glance, it appeared believable since the link ended in "US." However, after texting and direct messaging others, I managed to reread the rest of the faux-USPS text: "Please reply Y, then exit the text message, reopen the text activation link, or copy the link to Safari browser to open it, and get the latest logistics status. Thank you for choosing the USPS team." I didn't reply.
Warren Manongdo from National City received the exact text and knew it was fake immediately. "If it were real, they would say USPS, their website, phone number and the department — not just 'USPS Team.'" He also noted that "USPS would know the minute they print the shipping address it was incomplete."
Manongdo, myself, and most San Diegans who received similar USPS texts didn't reply. However, some people in San Diego County did respond and shared their experiences online but did not reply to my reporter's inquiry via direct message.
TikTok influencer Mimi Tijernia from Texas spoke about what happened when she clicked "Y" on the smishing fake USPS text stating that her package couldn't get through U.S. customs. Her December 30 TikTok post, which went viral and helped some San Diegans avoid the scam, garnered more than 100,000 likes as this story goes to print. Like me, Tijernia said the text made sense since she had yet to receive a parcel from overseas. She responded, "Y," and the scammers sent her a link to a faux but realistic-looking USPS website stating, "Please enter your correct address." After entering her address, she was prompted to the next page, which requested her credit card, stating they would only charge 1 cent. The text then said, "This card is not supported by this app." So Tijernia entered another credit card number and later went to the post office to discover it was a scam. "I checked my business account and they done took $500," she explained. "Then they're like gonna take small amounts, and they are going to take it at different times. They took a total of $700 from me." She posted screenshots of the faux text, similar to the one I received, and warned her viewers not to fall for the same smishing. "Y'all, just be careful."
On December 29, I received a text from people pretending to be FasTrak, also from a number in the Philippines. I hadn't driven on the 20-mile I-15 Express Lanes between the 78 in Escondido and 163 in San Diego for a while, so I questioned why FasTrak, the toll booth service company, would text me.
I went online to investigate and saw hundreds of people in San Diego County who received similar texts, warning each other about the FasTrak scam.
Manongdo, from above, received a text from the fake FasTrak scammers and didn't fall for it because of the same +63 country code and the statement "to avoid excessive late fees and potential legal action."
Manongdo happily pays for the South Bay toll roads from the 125 to the 54 or 905 because he drives a high-powered Toyota MR2 Turbo and prefers to avoid the stop-and-go traffic from 805 to Eastlake. "One more thing about the fake text: FasTrak would've sent me actual snail mail, not a text. Like, how would FasTrak get my phone number through my license plate when they could just run my plate and get my address?"
Local Todd C. said he was "taken" by the FasTrak smishing text. "I happened to have gone through a toll road up in Northern California, then got the text two or three days later," he explained. "I thought, wow, they must have gotten my number from the rental car company." Todd clicked the link in the text, entered his credit card number, and "two weeks later, unauthorized charges at a Walmart" appeared on his bank statement. Luckily, his bank covered the illegal charges. "I am usually pretty wise on not clicking links, etc., but the timing caught me."
Then there's a celebrity texting scam going around.
Catherine Goodson, a 67-year-old widow from Vista, was deceived by scammers posing as actor Keanu Reeves through text messages, which led her to lose her life savings and ultimately live in her car—as reported on NBC 7 News on Christmas Day.
Over two years, Goodson sent tens of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin, gift cards, and wire transfers in the hope of genuine love with the actor. Reflecting on her experience, she said, "I was lonely," and admitted, "I wasn't maybe listening to the warning signs, and I don't blame anybody but myself."
The news report added that in 2023, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office reported that romance scams siphoned off $1.3 million from San Diego County locals who believed they had found love online.
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