Scammers are looking to text messages to fleece unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned cash. Residents of the Rome and Floyd County area in Georgia are receiving SMS messages, claiming to be from the Northwest Georgia Credit Union. Police have warned that the message has nothing to do with the actual financial institution.

“NORTHWEST GA CU ALERT: Your CARD starting with 4151 has been DEACTIVATED,” the message reads, then asking recipients to call a number to submit credit card numbers by an automated answering service.

Rome police warned locals about the scam using Facebook (News - Alert), stating there are a number of versions of the scam message circulating, though none are legitimate. By midday Monday, 152 people had shared the Facebook post to spread the word about the scam.

Though neither number mentioned in the scam’s messages were active as of Sunday afternoon, according to Rome News-Tribune, police are concerned it will pick up again in the future using a different number.

Lt. Gary Clayton, assistant commander of the detective division from the Rome Police Department, urged residents not to share bank account information over the phone unless absolutely certain that their bank is on the other end of the line.

“Commonly, when you get your medication filled, they’ll ask you to verify who you are by entering the last four digits of your account,” he said. “But how (scammers) get that, I don’t know. Maybe they get it from restaurants.”

Over the last few years, SMS messages have frequently been used to obtain the financial information of unsuspecting victims. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman have teamed up to combat scams in Australia, particularly those taking place via SMS, e-mail and mobile phones.

In 2009, Qatar residents were warned of an SMS scam that promised a free Hummer vehicle to those who called a premium-rate overseas number.