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Detecting and preventing smishing

Detection

  • The message offers quick money from winning prizes or collecting cash after entering information. Coupon code offerings are also popular.
  • Financial institutions and government agencies will never send a text asking for credentials or a money transfer.
  • A sender number with only a few digits probably came from an email address, a sign of spam.

Prevention

  • Avoid responding to a phone number that you do not recognise.
  • Never send credit card numbers, ATM PINs, or banking information to someone via text messages. Or on the phone, over email, …
  • If a text claims to be from a specific organisation or individual, contact that entity directly using known contact information, not the details provided in the text.
  • Many smartphones and carriers now provide SMS filtering options to identify and block or flag suspicious texts.
  • Some security applications for mobile devices can help identify phishing links in text messages and prevent users from accessing malicious sites.
  • Even if attackers obtain some credentials through smishing, using Multifactor Authentication is an additional protective layer.
  • Do not store banking information on a mobile device.
  • Have two phone numbers, one for bureacratic matters and one for personal other use.
  • Telecoms offer numbers to report attacks. To protect other users, report it so that it can be investigated.
  • Be aware of current smishing tactics and threats. Awareness is the first line of defense.