Smishing
Smishing is a fraudulent action similar to phishing, using SMS (text) messages rather than e-mail messages to send bait messages to people.
Much like a phishing e-mail message, a smishing text message may appear to be from a legitimate source, and will try to obtain personal or financial information by suggesting that the recipient visit a web site or to call a particular phone number (often giving the recipient a sense of urgency such as an account being deleted or an ATM card being suspended).
Avoiding Smishing
Some tips to avoid being a victim of smishing include:- Do not reply to the text message. Similar to responding to a spam e-mail, this verifies the phone number is active and will result in more smishing messages being sent. Instead, it is better to contact a company or bank directly if there is any question regarding your accounts.
- Do not go follow any web site links or call any telephone numbers listed in the text message. Again, it is better to contact a company or bank directly with any questions.
- Look for suspicious features of the message. If it is requesting any information or has a sense of urgency about responding, it is likely to be a smishing attempt. It also is likely to be from an unknown or suspicious phone number.
Additional Information
Also see: Security definitions