Smishing: Here's how to spot fraudulent text messages

There are unscrupulous people who prey on vulnerable and unsuspecting people to steal from. One method they use is ‘smishing’ – using deceptive text messages to trick customers into providing their personal or financial information. These scammers are getting more sophisticated as more people become aware of their modus operandi.

Smishing texts

Scammers who send smishing messages often impersonate a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims. Smishing messages typically ask consumers to provide usernames and passwords, credit and debit card numbers, PINs, or other sensitive information that scam artists can use to commit fraud, according to The Office of Minnesota Attorney General.

It is estimated that the average smartphone user receives about a dozen fraudulent messages in a day. Tech news outlet, Android Police explains:

An example of a smishing attack is an SMS message that appears to be from your bank or credit card institution telling you that there's a problem with your account. Other common phishing text messages impersonate the government, finance companies, and online delivery companies.

Good to know

These messages are quite easy to spot. You should keep in mind that no trusted organization will ever ask for personal information over text messages. Flag any such text as a scam.

Also, some of these unsolicited messages may have links. Do not click the links as they may infect your mobile device with a virus or malware designed to steal the personal or financial information stored on the device.

Experts warn against responding to these fraudulent messages, not even to ask the sender to stop contacting you. The Office of Minnesota Attorney General said on its website:

Responding to smishing messages verifies that your phone number is active and that you are willing to open such messages, which may lead to an increase in the unsolicited text messages you receive.

If you do receive any such message, contact the bank, government agency, or company that the scam artist is impersonating, so it can alert others and work with law enforcement to investigate the activity, the article added.

Sources used:

Android Police: How to report phishing text messages

The Office of Minnesota Attorney Genera: Text Message Phishing — or “Smishing” — Scams