Someone in the Southeast is trying to prey on unsavvy texters by pretending to be their bank and asking them to “verify their account info.”

According to this news report out of South Carolina, people have been receiving texts from something called “Homebank.us” telling them they “have received a new e-Banking voice message” and to call a phone number with an 828 area code.

We called the number ourselves to verify the report.

An automated system tells you, “Welcome to Online Security Center. You’ve received this secure alert due to repeated log in attempts from a foreign IP address located in India,” and then moves on to ask for a credit card number, expiration date, PIN, and security code.

We didn’t do it, but the TV report entered fake info into the system and was then told by the automated operator that their personal information will be verified and you’ll be contacted within 5 to 10 business days.

FYI, “Homebank.us” goes to your typical cyber squatter search results page. The scammers couldn’t even be bothered to make up a proper bogus web page.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.