What Is “Smishing” Fraud and How Can You Avoid It?

Years ago when emails become one of, if not the biggest, method of communication and data sharing, we started to see spam, and what's called fishing. Phishing is an attempt by a scammer to get you to click on or respond to an email and possibly reveal some personal data.

  Now, we have smashing.

The Grant County Sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies caution people about the growing threat from text messages.

Over the last year, there has been a marked increase in the number of fake or fraudulent texts people receive. According to information released by Proofpoint in their 2023 State Of the Phish report, this year 76 percent of organizations have received fake text messages.

Because text messages are referred to as SMS or short message service messages, this new kind of fraud is known as Smishing.

They work the same as fraudulent emails, but according to social media, digital, and behavioral experts, people are far more likely to click on a text message than they are an email. Sometimes the text contains a link that the message urges you to click. Sometimes the message itself is a 'trojan horse' that deposits a virus in your phone just by clicking it.

Smishers often pose as banks, credit unions, medical businesses, and even law enforcement. They will sometimes urge you to click on their message because they claim your bank account or credit card has been compromised etc.

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The GCSO says unless you know who the message is from, or have serious doubts, delete it.