A text says your rewards or loyalty points are about to expire
A text message impersonating AT&T, Verizon, a credit card issuer, or an airline claims your rewards or loyalty points expire today. The link leads to a fake redemption page that steals your login credentials, card number, or SSN.
Also known as: expiring rewards text scam, loyalty points phishing text, AT&T rewards expiration scam, Verizon points text scam, credit card rewards smishing
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Do not click the link — open your carrier or bank's official app directly to check your actual points balance
- 2 If you tapped the link and entered any information, change your account password immediately and alert your card issuer
- 3 Report the smishing text by forwarding it to 7726 (SPAM) — all major US carriers support this
- 4 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ An unexpected text claims your rewards points will expire today or within hours, creating false urgency
- ⚠ The link in the text does not match the official company domain (e.g., 'att-rewards-claim.net' is not AT&T)
- ⚠ The 'redemption' page asks for your full card number, SSN, or login credentials — a real points page never demands this combination
- ⚠ You did not sign up for text alerts from this company, or the number doesn't match the short code you normally see
- ⚠ The message uses a generic greeting rather than your name or the last four digits of your account
Sources
- FTC — Got a text about expiring reward points? Look closer (Apr 2026)
- Techlicious — FTC warns about texts claiming your rewards points are expiring (Apr 2026)
- Trend Micro — That Text About Your Expiring Rewards Points Is a Scam (Apr 2026)
- New Hampshire Banking Dept — FTC Consumer Alert on reward points phishing (Apr 2026)