Experts say there's 3 specific words in a text message that likely mean you’re being scammed

We all think we're clever enough to not fall victim to a scam, particularly those pesky text ones, but it's easier than you think.

Part of the reason it can be easier than you think to fall victim to a scam is because there are now so many to try and keep up with - from 'smishing' to a terrifying scam which only has one single step to it.

And, unfortunately, there's another one to add to the list with experts warning about a text scam and how to identify it.

The chances are most of us have received a fair few scam text messages already in our lifetimes.

And it's pretty obvious when it's littered with spelling errors, is asking you to click a link or is from a mobile number you don't recognise that it's almost definitely a scam.

However, there are other texts sent by scammers which can be harder to pick apart, but an expert has revealed there are three particular words to look out for which scammers often use.

There's three words you should look out for within a text you're not expecting (Getty Stock Images/ Tim Robberts)

The phrase

Tim Bajarin, chairman of Creative Strategies - a market research company based in San Jose, California - told Reader's Digest the words 'would you kindly' should set alarm bells off in your head if you see them in a text.

Why? Well, he first points out 'kindly' may be something Brits often say - along with excessively apologizing - but it's not something in the 'common vernacular in the US'.

Instead, Bajarin explained you'll 'often hear' the phrase 'used in countries with British influence', ones where 'English isn't their mother tongue' or that 'perhaps' was a 'colonial country'. He notes this could subsequently be an indicator the message was sent by a 'boiler room' scammer - typically located overseas - boiler room scamming a high-pressure selling type of scam.

He added: "If you see this word or phrase, it’s a red flag, similar to poor spelling or grammar."

But what should you do if you receive one of these messages?

As a rule of thumb, just delete any unexpected messages from users you don't recognise (Getty Stock Images/ Boonchai Wedmakawand)

The former fraud investigator and special assistant to the attorney general’s office in Washington State, Doug Shade, who's also the founder of Fraud Prevention Strategies, added: "If it’s an ‘imposter’ message, like someone claiming to be from, say, Bank of America or the IRS, never click on the link or attachment.

"If you’re not sure if it’s [safe], you should independently log into that account with your own login and password - not what was sent to you - to see if the institution truly was trying to contact you."

Be safe out there.

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