What is Smishing and how to protect yourself from this threat

We should never let our guard down when it comes to our security and privacy. In this post we are going to explain What is Smishing and how can you protect yourself from this threat?. Because no mobile phone or user is completely safe.

The word Smishing is a combination of the terms “SMS” and “phishing”. If he Phishing This is the type of fraud that criminals try to commit via email, trying to obtain personal data, passwords and sensitive information from the most unwary; this is its equivalent in the field of text messages (SMS).

The fraud consists of sending Malicious SMS under a legal and trustworthy appearance. However, the objective remains the same: to access our most confidential information, especially credit card numbers or our bank details.

This is how Smishing works

It's a common mistake to think that "this only happens to fools" and to let our guard down when faced with a threat like this. Although there are some Smishing attempts that are quite easy to detect, other times those who send us these deceptive messages go to great lengths to make them look legitimate and trustworthy. Thus, they pretend to be banks, parcel delivery services or even official bodies. Falling into the trap is easier than it seems.

These are the hooks most frequently used by scammers in your SMS:

• Impersonation of banks and financial institutions (in Spain there are numerous fake SMS messages circulating that claim to be from Santander or BBVA) with alerts about "suspicious activity in the account" and similar.
• Fake package shipments. SMS purportedly sent by courier companies such as FedEx or UPS, demanding that users click on a link to release a shipment that has been blocked.
• Alleged traffic fines that you have to pay online through a very suspicious link. And you have to do it "urgently" so that surcharges are not applied.
• Fake job offers that come to us like gifts from the sky, with tempting promises of salaries and benefits.
• Service Account Verification Scams such as Amazon or PayPal. Scammers ask us to verify our identity through a link.*

Typically these Smishing SMS include links to fake websites, although many times, when we open them, we can find a very well-done appearance. Also We are asked to enter personal information on the linked page or to download some "important" file., which actually only contains malware.

To get the scammer to bite, these fraudulent SMS use Tricks that motivate action, appealing to urgency ("you only have 24 hours"), curiosity ("your package has been held") or fear ("your bank account could be frozen").

(*) During the pandemic of COVID-19, scammers took advantage of the general climate of concern to impersonate health authorities and encourage their victims to download supposed tracking and monitoring apps "for their own safety."

How to detect and protect yourself from Smishing

To avoid becoming victims of Smishing, we must Learn to recognize scammers' tricks and identify suspicious SMS. By being cautious and applying a little common sense, we will stay away from problems. Here are some tips that can be of great help:

• Be suspicious of unsolicited messages. Your bank will almost never try to contact you via SMS.
• Never share personal data or sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or access passwords.
• Don't click on the links nor download attachments that arrive via SMS.
• Check the source of the SMSIf, for example, you have received a message from your bank, you can call an official number to verify whether it is authentic or not.

In addition to all this, if there is the slightest doubt, it is advisable Block and report suspicious numbers from which we receive Smishing messages. We must inform our service provider and report to the police.

Other similar frauds to avoid

Unfortunately, criminals have a rich imagination when it comes to devising strategies and using whatever technological means are necessary to get their hands on our pockets. Smishing is just one of the many methods used to commit this type of crime. Other frauds that we should be on the lookout for include:

• Phishing, emails containing links to fake websites requesting our personal information.
• vishing, fraudulent phone calls in which the scammer pretends to be another person (bank representatives, members of a technical support team) in order to obtain our data.
• PharmingThis is a more complex and harder to detect scam. Typically, the victim of the scam does not receive any message or call, but is instead automatically redirected to a fake or dangerous website.