Prevent Phishing and Smishing Scams
The FCC has issued a warning about the increased prevalence of SMS phishing and smishing assaults. Criminals have been known to target their victims’ personal information and identity in order to steal their money.
These scams have been growing in recent months. It has been reported that billions of robotext messages are sent to mobile phones each month, according to the U.S. communications watchdog’s Robocall Response Team.
Furthermore, smishing scams are growing in popularity. Criminals use SMS text messages to send smishing scams to mobile phone users. On the other hand, phishing scams are snt through emails with enticing offers, with the intent of finding potential victims.
The scams observed by cyber security analysts, shows that they usually involve luring unsuspecting victims into clicking on a link that directs them to a malicious website.
Stop SMS phishing and smishing
The FCC released the list of precautions below to assist prevent SMS phishing attacks:
Never reply to texts that appear suspicious or come from unidentified numbers.
Never text someone your most private or financial details.
Watch out for misspelled words or messages coming from an email address.
Prior to clicking any links in a text message, pause and analyze the email address it is sent from.
Delete all suspicious emails with questionable links promoting enticing adverts.
The FCC published the following list of precautions to assist protect text messages: if a link seems odd or out of the ordinary, phone the sender to make sure they weren’t hacked.
Send the sender’s information and the text message body to phishing@irs.gov if you believe you have been a victim of an IRS-related texting scam.
The IRS added that scam SMS/text communications could be copied and sent to cellphone operators by text to 7726 (SPAM), which would aid them in identifying and blocking similar messages in the future.
“Taxpayers and tax professionals must always be on the lookout for shady IRS-related emails and text messages.
If you receive a text or SMS message, sharing your IRS crucial information, please contact the IRS helpline.
