Scammers may text and say your account has been compromised. Here’s how to protect yourself

You could get a text, a call, or an email saying that one of your accounts has been compromised. They then tell you that you need to act fast to prevent a loss of data and/or money.

But don’t respond immediately because you may fall right into the scammer’s trap. The scam is defined to make you act quickly and induce nerves by putting you at risk when you actually weren’t.

You can set up your bank accounts, credit cards, online shopping accounts and even streaming services to notify them of suspicious activity. They would be the ones to tell you if your account has been compromised.

Scammers have figured that out as well. They can now send you alerts too. It might look legit but it could be a trick to get you to install malware onto your device.

The Better Business Bureau of West Florida’s Bryan Oglesby says those problems are growing. “Scammers are really just trying to play on your emotion, they’re trying to create panic and angst and get you as a consumer act now and click on those links,” Oglesby said.

Once that malware is on your phone, computer, or tablet. All of your personal information, banking information, texts and photos can end up in the hands of cybercriminals.

Steps you can take to protect yourself include:

• Don’t panic
• Don’t click on unknown links
• call the fraud department yourself
• legitimate alerts will never