We discuss phishing often on this blog, and one method that often flies under the radar is smishing, or phishing that is conducted through SMS messages. Although email phishing is perhaps the most common method of conducting these scams, you should also be prepared to take on smishing, as it comes with its own share of unique challenges and dangers.
Ultimately, any plot carried out by a scammer that is trying to either pose as someone else or urge the user to do something particularly dangerous could be considered a phishing attack. This kind of definition goes beyond simple email scams, where you get a message in your inbox urging you to click on links or download infected attachments. There are other forms of phishing, like smishing using SMS messages or even vishing, where voicemails are involved.
Let’s go over how a smishing attack might look and how it’s similar to other phishing attacks out there.
The biggest difference to keep in mind here is that smishing is sent through text messaging. Really, that’s it; it’s still a phishing attack, whether it’s sent through your email or text messaging app. The fact that it’s often unexpected, however, is what gets a lot of unsuspecting victims into trouble with these smishing attempts. While it is easy to put two and two together when you get an email phishing message, the same is not necessarily true for smishing.
Since smishing attacks are quite similar to phishing attacks, you can identify them in a lot of the same ways. However, the biggest challenge to identifying smishing attacks is remembering that they are a thing; make sure you keep this in mind, as well as the following throwaway signs of any type of phishing attack:
You can avoid smishing attacks in much the same way you can avoid traditional phishing attempts. Don’t click on links or send information if you have any reason at all to believe that the sender is inauthentic. If you don’t recognize the number, don’t respond without doing a little investigating on your part to confirm its legitimacy.
If you want to protect your business from phishing attacks of all kinds, work with FRS Pros to provide your team with the training and technology to keep it safe. Learn more by calling us at 561-795-2000 today.