In a world full of digital interaction and connectivity, we are always open to privacy and data leak risks. While cybercrime authorities are strictly monitoring every digital transaction, there are always chances of breaches.
The social engineering attacks most cyber criminals use are phishing, smishing, and vishing. All three buzzwords are related and have a common goal, which is to compromise user accounts and hijack their financial accounts. Smishing is an increasingly common issue in today’s world of OTPs and PIN Code verification. According to Proofpoint’s 2024 phishing report, 75% of firms fell victim to smishing scams during the year.
This blog will discuss smishing in detail and present a complete walkthrough of this short message social engineering attack. Check our vishing and phishing articles to learn more about social engineering tactics.
What is Smishing?
Have you ever received a message from a business via SMS? How do you know that it is a legitimate message? Most probably from the name or number. What if the link in the message is spam or from a fake account? This is what attackers mostly do to trick you into their social engineering attack, i.e., Smishing. It is a form of phishing that uses SMS (Short Message Service). The name “smishing” also came from this principle which is a combination of SMS and phishing, making it SMiShing. It is an increasingly popular form of phishing as people tend to trust SMS more than emails. Also, the messaging app does not filter spam messages as well as popular email management services.
Types of Smishing Attacks
Smishing attacks are of different types. Some of the most common ones are listed below.
- Account Verification
Account verification mostly uses SMS to verify users via an OTP. Financial service smishing uses masked notifications. Hackers use this tactic to exploit the system and send a link with the same fake name to the user. Upon clicking the link, the attackers ask the users to provide the OTP received from the financial institution or bank. Other requests for account verification include messages like, “There is a suspicious activity associated with your account, click on the link to review.”
- Lottery
Lottery smishing messages are common in different areas of the world. People living in remote areas with little awareness of these scams fall victim to these attempts easily. These messages are targeted towards people who tend to rely on the phone to receive and send finances.
- Tax
Many people pay tax and other bills through their phones and every time they file their tax returns, an SMS is received. Hackers exploit this process via smishing to take illegal tax returns from the victims. They mask the authority numbers and generate a message mentioning tax issues. This triggers panic mode and the users start to follow the guidelines from the fake text message, losing their personal data and finances as well in most cases.
- Auto App Downloads
A rising threat from smishing is malware downloading into your devices. Attackers now intelligently redirect the user to a link that apparently does nothing but opens and closes in seconds. But on the back-end malware gets installed on the phone that runs in the background. It records the key presses and interactions. Whenever the person logs into their social media, bank, or any other account on the phone, their credentials get compromised.
- Gift Smishing
One key example of gift smishing is order confirmation by the customer. The false USPS and FedEx scams began circulating in 2020. These gift scams attempt to steal account credentials by confirming your credit card information. For instance, the attackers scrap your ordering information and send you a message, claiming, “Your delivery package details are incorrect or missed, click on the link to refill the form.” These messages redirect you to fake websites that look exactly like the original ones. Upon filling out the form attackers exploit your digital accounts within a couple of minutes.
The Process – How Smishing Works?
There are generally two key steps that smishing criminals follow to lure their victims into their traps.
Bait
Firstly, they track your usage patterns and interactions with digital tools and craft a tempting message to make you feel obligated to action. It is not always a legal action, but the results are not in your favor. For instance, generating an OTP for digital transactions is not illegal but handing it to the attackers drains your bank accounts.
Trap
Secondly, after crafting a temping stimulus, they design a mask similar to legal identity sites. For instance, they clone the website to redirect you to an identical website and build your trust. For instance, you will trust a webpage that looks similar to your banking app or the government’s official website.
Theft
Finally, upon trusting the clone and giving away your details, the attackers succeed. This smishing attack is common for most types of smishing attempts.
What is Smishing in the Cybersecurity World?
To combat smishing attacks, legal authorities like the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) have rules and regulations in place. These entities work with strict protocols requiring wireless service providers to enforce filtering messages. They instruct SMS carriers to block likely spam messages from suspicious sources and addresses. The key way to counter this is to identify invalid phone numbers and filter them, notifying users that they are spam or misleading. However, these filters are not 100% accurate and new technologies enable attackers to crack these filters, bypassing the security layers. But don’t worry as you also can identify smishing attempts and keep yourself safe by following security and awareness guidelines. Here is how you can prevent smishing attacks:
Mobile Cybersecurity Solutions
Both Android and iOS operating systems can filter spam if they are configured with proper mobile cybersecurity solutions. The first step is to turn on the settings on your phone that block unapproved applications. This will ask the user for permission every time a new app is installed, which helps you identify suspicious applications and malware. On organizational levels, there are other third-party applications and solutions for fraud detection.
Make sure to Ask Questions
Always be skeptical when communicating with someone on the phone, especially when you are unaware of the person on the other end. Ask questions at each step to be crystal clear about your next move. In most cases, the attacker will fall back, and you will eventually understand the smishing attack and save your finances.
Verify, Verify, and Verify
This is the most crucial step as it can save you even after the attacker answers all your queries correctly. Always double-check before handing over any data over text messages or phone calls. If the person claims to be a bank representative, just contact your banking helpline immediately to confirm. Verifying will help you identify smishing attacks quickly without losing your finances.
Conclusion
Smishing attacks are becoming prevalent in the modern era as every verification process is carried through the SMS channel. Keeping in line with the attackers is necessary to prevent losses and stay safe in the world of mobile interactions. Staying aware of new trends in social engineering and getting the latest security applications from verified sources is key to preventing smishing attacks. Proper employee training is necessary with proper security protocols to check the malware and third-party smishing applications on the organizational level.
FAQs
What is Smishing?
Smishing or SMS phishing is a type of social engineering attack that uses the SMS channel to lure users into fake traps. The goal is to get their sensitive/personal data and use it for illicit means.
What does a smishing text look like?
Smishing texts carry baits for instance lottery prizes, loan approvals, and government job success messages. Also, a message from a fake bank representative is also a common smishing attack.
Does clicking the link on smishing text hack me?
Yes, links can be harmful as they can auto-download malware on your devices which in turn leaks your data to hackers.