Chances are you or your organization leverage some sort of security software or service to protect your emails against “phishing”— fraudulent messages
that attempt to get you to reveal sensitive information such as account numbers and passwords. Smartphones are just another venue for these types of scams.
If you don't secure your smartphone or pay no mind to the applications and their permissions pre-installation you risk losing personal information and even control
of your phone.
So what is Smishing?
“Smishing” is phishing that’s conducted over short message service (SMS)... in short, your texts.
Common smishing messages often appear to require immediate attention. They may take a format such as:
- A message “from your bank,” telling you your account has been shut down and asking you to call a number to reactivate the account.
- A notification that you've been signed up for a service and will be charged unless you take some form of action, such as visiting a bogus website.
- A confirmation of a purchase that directs you to call a number if the confirmation is inaccurate.
If you take the actions as prompted by these messages, you may be sending your personal information straight to the scammer.
Some programs will spread malware or a virus, others may give the scammers the means to eavesdrop on your phone calls or even propagate further attacks on others from your phone.
The key to combating this is user Awareness! What can you do?
- Delete messages from unknown sources without reading.
- Do not click on links or download apps from an unverified source.
- Never provide sensitive information to an unverified texter.
- Avoid messages that appear to come from the number 5000. This may be an identity that hides a scammer’s real number. The message may have no number at all.
- Add security software to your mobile phone.
- Look into setting up a “text alias.” This cell phone feature hides your actual phone number from the smishing sender.
- Contact your phone provider and alert it to the messages you’ve been receiving.
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