Smishing
Sunday, September 20, 2009 23:21
Well, here is a new one on me. I have to credit Tom Slovenski from www.cellularforensics.com with bringing this one to my attention. The term Smishing was a term I had not heard used before. Smishing is basically a phishing attack using cell phone text messages. The term is derived from SMS technology used in text messaging and the term phishing.
The scam works by sending a cell phone text message to someone. The text message appears to be from a legitimate source such as a bank, e-commerce website, or some other type of financial institution. The text message usually contains a message that requires your immediate attention. The message tries to trick you into clicking on a link to a website or calling a particular number. If it is a website link, it will take you to a legitimate looking website that asks to you to enter some personal information such as credit card number, ATM card pin number, or other personal information. If the text message includes a phone number, then it usually directs you to an automated voice response system which will also ask for similar types of personal information. The information gathered can be used to steal your identity or used to duplicate credit, ATM, or debit cards. There have been some cases where a fake card has been used elsewhere in the world as little as 30 minutes after the personal information was gathered.
One thing to be aware of in many cases is that the text message will show it came from “5000” instead of an actual phone number which usually indicates that the text message came from an e-mail account and not another cell phone.
This is just another version of phishing, vishing and identity theft scams. Be careful and always trust and verify before submitting any personal information to a business, especially via text messages, phone, or e-mail.
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