ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A new texting phone scam has Verizon asking customers to be on alert and to not click the links.

The scam will show up as your own phone number, usually saying you’ve won a prize. Some of the links are even taking people to Russian sites.  

According to CBS News, some of the links actually go to a Russian State-operated TV broadcast, ‘Channel One Russia’, while others are looking for your personal information. 

Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau, who had an office mate get one of these texts, says scammers are primarily looking for you to do a survey, and to enter a credit card number to claim a free prize. 

Verizon issued a statement saying they are aware of people sending spam to customers which appear to come from their own numbers, adding that their team is working to block these messages, and they have engaged with police to try and stop the source of the fraudulent activity.

McGovern says bad actors are getting customers when they’re not even thinking. “Text messages are opened 95 percent of the time. So when you open that text and see a trusted brand or your bill is paid, you’re like ‘what bill?’ and you’re going to click on it. So, unless you subscribe to texts — it’s a really good idea to keep track of those, don’t click on that bill, or that text message,” she says.

McGovern says these types of scams are nothing new, especially during the past two years of the pandemic. She says all the national phone carriers have had to deal with things like this.