The New Face of Cyber Crime: Text Scams and Prepaid Card Fraud Are Exploding in Arkansas

Cybercriminals have shifted tactics — and they’ve found a gold mine: your phone.
Text-based scams and prepaid card fraud are two of the fastest-growing attack vectors targeting Arkansas schools, businesses, and even individual employees. These attacks bypass traditional email filters, hit personal devices, and prey on urgency. And they’re costing organizations millions.

Here’s what you need to know — and how Red Garrison helps you stay ahead of it.

Why Texting Is the New Attack Surface

Email is still a major threat, but attackers go where the defenses are weakest.
Schools and businesses rarely monitor:

• Personal cell phones

• SMS messages

• iMessage

• WhatsApp

• Google Voice

• Temporary numbers

Criminals use a tactic called SMiShing (SMS + phishing) to send messages that appear to come from:

• A superintendent

• A principal

• A business executive

• A vendor

• A bank or government agency

• Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart, UPS, FedEx

Common indicators include:

• “Are you available? I need a quick favor.”

• “Can you purchase a few cards for me?”

• “Your delivery/payment is on hold. Verify immediately.”

• “We suspended your account due to unusual activity.”

Once the victim replies, the attacker escalates — usually pushing toward gift card purchases, prepaid Visa cards, or urgent wire transfers.

The Scam That’s Burning Schools and Small Businesses

Attackers love prepaid cards because:

• They’re untraceable

• They’re fast

• They require no bank access

• Victims can purchase them anywhere

• K-12 staff often follow urgent leadership requests without hesitation

In Arkansas, we’ve seen:

• Staff receive texts claiming to be the superintendent asking for “a few gift cards for a staff recognition event.”

• Business office employees pressured into buying prepaid Visas to “close out a financial discrepancy.”

• Coaches, teachers, and secretaries targeted because their roles align with purchasing authority.

• Small business managers asked to “verify funds” by purchasing cards and sending the numbers.

In almost every case, the criminal tells the victim:

“Scratch the back and send me photos of the codes.”

Once that code is sent, the money is gone.

Why This Works: Human Urgency Manipulation

These attacks succeed because they weaponize:

• Urgency (“I need this now.”)

• Authority (“This is the superintendent/CEO.”)

• Isolation (“Don’t call, I’m in a meeting.”)

• Confidentiality (“This is a surprise — keep it quiet.”)

When you mix those together, even highly trained people fall for it. And attackers know:

If they hit 100 staff members, they only need one.

How Schools and Businesses Can Fight Back

Here’s the baseline defense every Arkansas organization should implement:

1. Stop all transactions that begin with text messages

No leader should ever request purchases, cards, or financial action through text.Create a formal policy and repeat it often.

2. Require verbal confirmation

If a message mentions money, cards, or credentials → verify with a phone call.

3. Train staff on real-world examples

Show them screenshots of actual scams affecting Arkansas districts and small businesses.

4. Use technical controls when possible

• Deploy mobile threat defense on work devices

• Use zero-trust MFA

• Lock down purchasing processes

• Reduce the number of people who can authorize purchases

5. Track trends

Attackers reuse scripts. If one school gets hit, the next three neighboring districts usually follow.

How Red Garrison Helps Defend Arkansas Against Texting + Card Fraud

Our APT and Bootcamp programs are built for exactly this type of threat.

We help clients safeguard leadership, finance teams, front-office staff, and anyone with purchasing authority through:

✔ Real-World Text + Gift Card Attack Simulations

We send safe, controlled smishing attacks that mimic the scams hitting Arkansas right now. Your team sees them, learns from them, and improves immediately.

✔ Year-Round Awareness Training

Short, high-impact modules focused on the threats that actually matter — smishing, vishing, QR-code fraud, phishing, credential theft, MFA fatigue, and more.

✔ Executive Protection

We set up monitoring for superintendent names, HR directors, CFOs, and business leaders to detect impersonation attempts early.

✔ Rapid Response Playbooks

We build internal workflows so your staff knows exactly what to do when a suspicious text arrives.

✔ Policy Development

We help you establish clear rules around purchasing, prepaid cards, verification steps, and leadership communication.

✔ Continuous Monitoring & Reporting

Text-based scams surge in waves. We watch the patterns and advise you before they hit your region.

Final Thoughts

Text scams and prepaid card fraud aren’t “small” crimes. They’re organized, relentless, and growing — and they’re hitting Arkansas harder each year.

The organizations that perform best aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets.
They’re the ones with:

• Clear policies

• Ongoing training

• Real-world testing

• A security partner who knows how Arkansas organizations actually operate

At Red Garrison, we help schools, colleges, and businesses stay ahead of these evolving threats with simple, effective, and affordable cybersecurity support.

If you want help building a smishing-resistant culture, we’re ready when you are.