Cybercriminals are like the Terminator. They can’t be bargained with. They can’t be reasoned with. They don’t feel pity or remorse or fear. And they absolutely will not stop until they have your information. What’s worse is that they’ve expanded their act to a scam experts call “smishing.”
Here’s Five Fast Facts about Smishing:
- 🐟 Smishy - Smishing (or SMS Phishing) is a cybersecurity attack carried out over text messaging. Similar to phishing, smishing is designed to trick you into giving up your personal information.
- 📱Why SMS? - Research firm Gartner reports that cell phone users read 98% of text messages and respond to 45%. When you consider only 6% of all emails receive responses, it’s easy to see why SMS is the method of choice.
- 🐠 Bait - Smishermen (I just came up with that. Be impressed!) send you a URL or get you to download malware (malicious software) onto your phone. Both methods ultimately will get your confidential information.
- 💬 Smessages - There are a variety of smishing attacks that are used. They include account verification scams (pretending to be your bank), prize scams (asking you to click to claim your prize), tech support scams (pretending your phone has a virus), or even tax scams (promising refunds or threatening penalties).
- 📶 Prevention - The easiest way to avoid being smished is not clicking on links from unknown senders, even if they claim they’re from a reputable source. If you have been smished, report the suspected attack to any institutions that could help, freeze your credit, change your passwords and PINs, and keep an eye on your finances.
🔥Bottom line: Protecting yourself from smishing is no different than any other type of cyber crime: be smart. If you don’t know who it’s from (or if things look fishy) don’t interact with it. Stay aware and always trust your gut. If it looks suspicious, it probably is.
Have you been smished?
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