How to protect your Phone from Smishing attacks – Guide

Organizations are becoming increasingly familiar with phishing scams, a type of social engineering attack that involves sending malicious emails to unsuspecting victims. These emails can give hackers access to sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers and social security numbers.

Recipients of phishing emails may be familiar with smishing, a scam spread via text message. Similar to email-based phishing, smishing attacks use text messages to deceive victims.

Protect yourself from smishing attacks

Don’t assume it’s genuine just because it’s professionally written

Scammers can craft text messages to look like they come from a legitimate source, making it difficult to spot a scam. Don’t be fooled by perfect spelling and grammar - smishing scams are still out there.

Smishing is a type of phishing that uses text messages to try and get recipients to follow a link. It can be difficult to spot, as the texts are usually short and don’t show the full link. This means it’s harder to identify suspicious domains, such as those with an uppercase “I” instead of a lowercase “l”.

Don’t want to click a link without knowing where it’s going? Press and hold it instead: you’ll see the destination address without having to visit the site.

Checking a domain for suspicious activity can be difficult, as many services use link shortening platforms like bit.ly to convert domains into shorter strings of letters. This is often seen in messages with character restrictions, such as text and Twitter.

Press and hold a link to copy it, then paste it into your browser with a “+” to view the site and check if it looks fake.

Never give out personal information by text

Never give out personal information in response to an unexpected email - it’s the surest way to protect yourself from scams. Ignoring these requests is the best way to ensure your details remain secure.

If you need to be sure you’re not missing an important message, consider alternate methods of communication like email or calling. However, if it’s urgent enough, the organization will likely reach out to you.

Visit the organization’s website directly

Logging in manually by typing the company address into your browser is recommended if you have an account with the app or service that contacted you.

If you receive a message and don’t see a notification with the same content, it’s likely a scam. To be sure, check for other signs of authenticity.

Phone the company using a reliable phone number

Verifying the authenticity of a message can be done by calling the organization it claims to be from. Doing so will not only confirm its validity, but also provide assistance with any issues related to it.

If you opt to call a phone number from a text message, be sure to verify its reliability. Don’t just dial the number that sent the message, as it could lead to a scammer.

Finding a phone number for a message related to your bank account or government correspondence is easy. Look for the number on your bank card or in previous letters and emails.

Final note

Encourage your friends to stay safe from smishing attacks by sharing this guide on how to protect their phones. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.