Tagged: texting

The 2012 Missouri State Fair is underway in Sedalia.

Attendees this year will have access to a new warning system in the event of severe weather.  Fair officials and the State Highway Patrol are offering the service, which will provide text messages to fairgoers if there’s a severe weather warning or other emergency situation.  Marketing Director Tammie Nichols says it’s being provided, in part, because of last year’s severe storm that knocked out power and forced the fair to shut down for several hours.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office is warning the public of a new scam that’s targeting smartphone and cellphone users.

The scam is known as "smishing," and it involves text messages telling recipients that they’ve won prizes or gift cards from big-name retailers such as Wal-Mart or Costco and instructs them to claim them by clicking on a link.  Attorney General Chris Koster (D) says clicking the link will infect phones with malware that gives identity thieves access to personal information.