PHOENIX — We practically live on our phones as a society; they truly are our lifeline but they're also the fastest way to our personal information.
The city of Phoenix tweeted out a warning about a texting scam regarding COVID-19 relief, something you may be looking for -- but don't be fooled.
The alert comes in the form of a text message, the chime itself is attention grabbing by default.
Dr. Dan Pallesen, the chief of investor behavior at Keystone Wealth Partners, said don't get it twisted when it's a text message about money.
"It's like this constant shot of dopamine that we get when we hear the chime because you're excited to see who's texting us or who's engaging with us on social media," Pallesen said.
"You'll want to verify that it is in fact from them. There's usually a way to verify, don't click on links."
The advice comes on the heels of the latest lure of your personal information that's lurking in your inbox.
Pallesen says beware.
"The IRS won't reach out to you via email, via text, through your social media," Pallesen said.
"If the IRS is reaching out to you, it's usually through a letter first and they'll usually send multiple letters and they will never threaten you."
The city of Phoenix hoping to ensure people don't fall for this circulating scam, they tweeted out:
Pallesen says in order to keep your information secure, always double check the source and second guess what sounds "too good to be true."
"We don't know if stimulus packages are going to be approved or sent out or not, so there's a lot of waiting to see if help will arrive so there's a lot of hope that we're all just sitting around with," he said.
If you've received an alert via text, city leaders urge you to visit the website listed above.
