The text includes a greeting with your name, and a message that says your FedEx package is waiting for you to set delivery preferences. It also includes a tracking code and a link to a free "survey."
Then, the survey will ask for your credit card information to pay for shipping, and it will automatically sign you up to received a product each month with a charge of $98.95.
Newberry Township Police Chief Steven Lutz said, in this case, there's not much hope after that.
"It's almost impossible for us to figure out where that money went to, once they provided that information to the scammer," Lutz said.
Lutz said the department gets calls about scams at least every other day. Each one is taken as seriously as the one before. Depending on what type of scam it is, it's highly unlikely they are able to make any charges. Especially ones that are via text.
"If you have scams that have phone numbers attached, those phone numbers are usually spoofed or they are routed through different ways," Lutz said. "Us as law enforcement, when we go to do a search warrant on that particular phone number, it's not going to be there, because that number doesn't exist."
It happens more often than it doesn't. FedEx wants people to know how they operate, sending us a statement, saying:
“FedEx does not send unsolicited text messages or emails to customers requesting money or package or personal information. Any suspicious text messages or emails should be deleted without being opened, and reported to abuse@fedex.com. For more tips on detecting online scams, visit the FedEx Customer Protection Center at http://www.fedex.com/us/security/prevent-fraud."
Chief Lutz said if you're not sure of the number, do a quick google search for a legitimate number for that business.
"The scammers, they are very very good at their craft," Lutz said. "And when I say good at their craft, they know how to scam even the most experienced individuals that don't feel like they're being preyed upon."
The Newberry Township Police Department's website has a link to the most common senior citizen scams. They also have information on the most common scams including package scams, phishing, and cell phone scams.