Protect yourself from a Fraudulent SMS or Smishing
Smishing is a social engineering attack that uses fake mobile text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to cybercriminals. The term “smishing” is a combination of “SMS”—or “short message service,” the technology behind text messages—and “phishing.
We highly advise to report this to your respective Government-regulating body that handles fraud and cyber attacks - like the Federal Trade Commission for users located in the US.
Here are additional ways on how you can protect yourself as well as our organization towards this kind of Cyber attack:
- Don’t click hyperlinks in texts from suspicious or unknown numbers. This is doubly true if the link is a short, abbreviated URL. When used in SMS messages, shortened URLs are often an indicator that cyber criminals are trying to mask overtly fake URLs.
- Be wary, if urged to pay or give out sensitive information pause and verify if the source is legitimate and trustworthy.
- Never respond to texts from unknown or suspicious numbers – even to tell them to stop. Doing so will let scammers know your number is active, and you could be added to spam lists and harassed further.
- Always keep your phone’s operating system up to date to protect against malware hidden in smishing links.
- Pay attention to social engineering red flags, such as urgent messages or get-rich-quick fixes. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Don’t trust texts asking for personal information, especially if they purport to come from real organizations. Remember that government agencies and legitimate companies will never text you asking for account details.
Here are the steps on how you can block a number using iOS device:
Here's the steps on how to block a number using Android device: