What the heck is smishing?

Recent reports have warned of smishing, but what exactly is it? And how do you know if you’re being smished?

Smishing is 1 of the “ishing” scams:

• Phishing: scammers send you an email asking for personal info
• Smishing (or SMiShing): the scam comes via a text or messaging app, like WhatsApp
• Vishing: the scam comes via a call or voicemail

These messages may seem like they’re from a familiar company or organization — a bank, your internet provider, the IRS — but they’re not.

They’ll try to fool you into revealing personal info, such as bank details or login credentials.

In the case of smishing…

… the text usually contains a link that, if clicked, will download malware to the victim’s device or direct to a bogus site requesting personal info.

These kinds of scams were hot in 2020, resulting in 241.3k complaints and adjusted losses of $54m+, per a report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

How to spot it

Red flags include messages that:

• Have grammar or spelling errors
• Try to scare you (e.g., “your account is suspended”)
• Offer prizes or rewards

But the biggest red flag? Asking for data at all. Per Bryan Ogelsby of the Better Business Bureau, “​No legitimate company, government agency, or organization is going to ask for that data even if they sent you a text message or email.”

So, what to do?

• Don’t click the link.
• Report the text.
• If you’re unsure, contact the supposed sender of the message directly and ask them if they tried to reach you.