
Smishing is basically phishing scams that are sent over Short Message Service (SMS) text messages.
"Surely I would never fall for that" you say. Apparently someone is falling for it, as they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't work some of the time.
Most phishing scams play on your fear of things such as:
- Fear of someone stealing your money
- Fear of being accused of a crime that you did not commit
- Fear of someone doing harm to you or your family
- Fear of something embarrassing being revealed about you (whether it is true or not)
Phishers refine their scams over time learning which ones work, and which don't. Given the short nature of SMS messages, phishers have a very limited canvas on which to work so they have to be extra creative in a smishing attack
Here are a few tips to help you tell spot SMiShing scam texts
- Review your bank's and credit card company's policy on sending text messages Many banks don't send text messages because they don't want people to fall for smishing attacks. If they do send texts find out what number they use to generate them so you will know if they are legitimate. The scammers may use spoofed alias numbers that look like they are from your bank, so you should still be skeptical and not reply directly. Contact your bank at their regular customer service number to see if the text was legit or not.
- Beware of messages that have a number that says it is from "5000" Email-to-Text services often list 5000 or some other number that is not a cell number as where they originated from. Scammers are likely to mask their identity by using Email-to-Text services so that their actual phone number is not revealed.
- Ask yourself if the suspicious text preys on the fears mentioned above If the message content fits into one of the fear categories above, be extra skeptical. If it is threatening in any way to your or your family members, report it to the local authorities and also to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) .
- Never reply to a suspicious text without doing research and verifying the source. If it is really your bank texting you, then they should know exactly what you are talking about when you call them using the phone number on your latest statement. If they say there are no issues with your account, then the text was obviously bogus.
- Use Your Cell Providers Text Alias Feature
- Enable the "block texts from the internet" feature if available from your cell provider
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