All About Smishing

Smishing and how to avoid it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Is Smishing?

Scammers pose as a familiar company or service (like a bank) and send you a text containing dangerous links, or prompt you to respond with your personal information.  This Short Message Service (SMS) or text-based phishing scam is called Smishing, and the bad guys have taken a liking to it.

How Does Smishing Work?

Scammers send shocking alerts such as – “Your account has been locked due to multiple failed logins.” – accompanied by a link to supposedly resolve the issue.  Don’t be fooled…that link is their ticket to your personal information.  Don’t click it.

Another tactic they use is to persuade you into calling a number by telling you there’s been an issue with your account or that suspicious activity has been detected.  A scammer will be ready to take your call and persuade you into providing personal information or making a payment.


Ways To Avoid Smishing

Think before you tap!

  • Remember that government agencies, banks, or any other legitimate business will never request sensitive information over a text message.
  • Take your time. Much like email phishing, texting scammers will often use the social engineering tactic of creating a false sense of urgency in their message.
  • Never click on any links or call any phone numbers in unexpected texts. Contact the company directly if you’d like to verify the text message.
  • Take your time. Much like email phishing, texting scammers will often use the social engineering tactic of creating a false sense of urgency in their message.
  • Never click on any links or call any phone numbers in unexpected texts. Contact the company directly if you’d like to verify the text message.