Have you been receiving texts from political candidates, manufacturers, insurance companies, fundraising campaigns, or any other strange messages? If so, you're probably scratching your head wondering how they got your phone number because you know for a fact that you have never sent them texts before. There's a simple explanation for those unexplained texts. It's called 'smishing', and it has become extremely common. Not only is it annoying, but worse, it can be troubling.
What is Smishing?
To understand what smishing is, you first need to understand what phishing is. Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which an attacker sends emails to their targets. The emails appear as if they're from credible sources and lure the targeted individual into providing sensitive data (their name, credit card info, passwords, etc.), visiting malicious sites, or clicking on links that infect devices with viruses.
Smishing is a type of phishing, but rather than email, criminals attack smartphones via SMS (short message service) messages, better known as text messages. The term 'smishing' is a combination of 'SMS' and 'phishing'.
How to Identify Smishing
- Unexpected messages from unknown numbers
- Urgent requests for personal information
- Links to unfamiliar websites
- Offers that seem too good to be true
- Messages claiming to be from banks or delivery companies asking you to click a link
How to Protect Yourself
Never click on links in unexpected text messages. If you think a message might be legitimate, go directly to the company's website by typing the address into your browser. Report suspicious messages to your mobile carrier and delete them immediately.
