You probably know phishing via email, where a scammer sends you messages and tries to extract sensitive information, such as your credit card details or social security number.
"Smishing" is electronic fishing (Phishing) based on SMS. These are text messages designed to deceive you.
What is Smishing?
To date, almost everyone has experienced phishing scams that reach them via spam. For example, someone may claim to come from your bank and ask you to provide account information, social security numbers or credit card information.
Smishing is simply the SMS version of a phishing scam. Instead of a spam email, you get a simple text message on your smartphone. “SMS” means “service text messages” and is the technical term for the text messages you receive on your phone.
The new text message package delivery scam is a perfect example of smishing. Users receive text messages claiming to be from FedEx with a tracking code packetand a link to “set delivery preferences”.
Clicking this link on your phone (should not) will result in a fake site appearing like Amazon (a phishing site). The website will ask for your credit card details for "shipping costs". If you provide payment details, you will be charged $ 98,95 each month.
This is just one example. One program Phishing SMS could pretend to be from your bank and ask you to provide your social security number. Or, it could claim to be from some other legitimate organization and ask you to download some dangerous software onto your phone. The possibilities are endless.
Spam: Not just for email
Email companies have great spam filters that get a lot of spam in the Spam folder before you see them. So the scammers had to find another alternative.
You will come across various types of fraudulent phone calls, such as Wangiri a simple phone call to a landline and cell phones phones. Phishing attacks also take place on Facebook and other social network services.
SMS e-fishing is still something that many people have never encountered or experienced less of. Scammers estimate that their victims will think less of it than they would an email. We should not be surprised when we see smishing becoming more and more popular as scammers seek more victims.
How to protect yourself from fraud
You need to be on the lookout for text messages as well as watch out for malicious emails. All the standard tips for dealing with phishing text messages also apply to email:
- Look at the source of the text message. For example, if Amazon always sends you a delivery notice from a specific number. However, fraudsters can forge the number from which a text message comes, as well as the identifier of the caller.
- Be careful of anything suspicious. If you receive a delivery notice from a new number - especially if you do not expect delivery is suspicious. We recommend that you do not open links contained in text messages.
- Avoid the intreatment information if you click a link in a text message. For example, if you get a "fraud alert" that says it's from your bank, don't click on the link in the message. Visit your bank's website directly or call your bank on the phone and ask if the message is genuine.
- Do not send sensitive information in response to strange texts. "Hi, I'm your wife, I just got a new phone - what's your Social Security number again?"
- Watch out for everything that is "too good to be true", like all the "free" ones that need your credit card number for some reason.
- Do not download and install software that came to you via text message or email.
How to block SMS Spam
Both iPhones and Android phones allow you to automatically block unwanted text messages. As with blocking unwanted phone calls, you will install an application that contains a blacklist of spammers. When you receive a message from these suspicious numbers, it will be filtered automatically.
If you receive many unsolicited text messages, we strongly recommend that you block them proactively with such an application. If you receive a few spam messages, you can always manually block the number that sends them to iPhone or Android devices.
