Mysterious text popping up on phones

LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A mysterious text popping up on people’s phones across central Florida has many wondering whether the message is legit or fraudulent. 

“It just looks fishy,” said Tyler Kusev, when we showed him the message. 

The text usually has your name, then it says someone has complimented you. It says to see more – click on one of two links.   Even the Chief of Windermere Police posted about it on social media saying he’s been getting questions.

But experts say this is not a scam. The links lead to the app store and an app called “IRL.” 

“It’s ‘In Real Life,’ so essentially the gist is that you would download it, I would download,” said Tom Jelneck, the president of On Target Digital Marketing. “It’s really kind of a harmless great idea to get people together offline using online but again this marketing tactic they’re using is a little bit off putting and little bit creepy to people.” 

So why are people who have never heard of the app getting the message? The News Station reached out to IRL and received a statement saying in part, “The only way anyone would receive a text message is if someone who has their contact info sent them an invite to a plan, added them as a friend or complimented them.”

“Unfortunately, in today’s day and age, we have to be on guard,” Jelneck said. 

Jelneck says people are right to be weary and to think before clicking. While this mysterious text looks to be okay, the next one may not be.