In this class, we covered the growing threat of smishing. Smishing is texting scams. These scams are becoming more prevalent as many of us have learned not to answer unknown phone calls or respond to emails that aren’t from people we know.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps:

The goal of Smishing is to induce individuals to:

Reveal personal information, such as passwords / credit card number
Clicking or downloading a malicious link

Scammers are looking to invoke emotion such as urgency, fear, or curiosity from the text. Some examples scammers use in their text:

You have won a contest or a prize and must claim it
Someone has sent you a gift or a coupon that you need to activate
Your financial institution must confirm your details
A pending money transfer to your account requires your authorization
The expensive purchase you made needs verification
A virus was detected on your phone
Your account was locked due to suspicious activity or unusual login attempts

Do Not React Immediately If:

The text is from a strange phone number
The text includes a suspicious link
The text claims to be from a company that you know and trust
The text has spelling, grammar, and formatting mistakes
There's a sense of urgency
The text includes requests for money or information
Spelling or grammar issues

Remember:

Just because you receive a text doesn’t mean you must respond immediately.
Scammers are professionals at separating you from your hard earned money - don’t let emotions overtake logic.