What is Smishing?
Smishing is a form of phishing where cyber criminals send you a text message to trick you into giving them your private information or clicking on a link that installs malware on your phone. Their intent is to steal your identity and/or money.
Cyber-criminals may send a text message asking you to verify your account, confirm your personal information, change your password or download software. Here are five tips to protect yourself from a smishing attack:
| 1. Don’t click on links from unrecognized numbers. Text messages from unrecognized numbers are much more likely to contain smishing links. Even if you get a text message from a friend with a link, you should consider verifying that they meant to send the link before clicking it. 2. Don’t reply to the text or call the number. Replying to the text message or calling the number will notify the scammers that your phone number is active. This could increase the amount of scam text messages or calls you receive. 3. Never install apps from text messages. Installing an app from a text message may compromise your personal information and security. Only download apps directly from recognized app stores such as Google Play and the Apple App Store. 4. Be suspicious of urgent text messages. Urgent text messages asking you to take an action or face a negative consequence should be approached with caution. These types of text messages are often sent by cyber-criminals who are attempting to access your private information. 5. Use official company websites for contact information. Scammers often pose as a company or organization in their messages. If you want to contact a company or organization about a text message, look up its contact information through its official website. |
