IT News

It’s safe to say weIt’s safe to say we’ve all heard about phishing scams by now - if you haven’t, you’re not doing enough to protect your business from data theft.

But as with anything tech-related, things move on quickly.

Cyber-criminals will always try new and more powerful ways to trick you into giving away your data. And now they’re targeting our phones.

Ever received an SMS that you weren’t expecting, possibly from a well-known company? Maybe you received a notification that a courier attempted to deliver a package.

These kind of messages contain a link for you to click and rearrange delivery.

But when you click the link, you’re taken to a spoof page which steals your information as soon as you enter it.

This allows the scammer behind it to use those details to access your online accounts. Or gives them access to your device.

This is called smishing. The cell phone equivalent of phishing. You and your people need to be aware and ultra-vigilant.’ve all heard about phishing scams by now - if you haven’t, you’re not doing enough to protect your business from data theft.

But as with anything tech-related, things move on quickly.

Cyber-criminals will always try new and more powerful ways to trick you into giving away your data. And now they’re targeting our phones.

Ever received an SMS that you weren’t expecting, possibly from a well-known company? Maybe you received a notification that a courier attempted to deliver a package.

These kind of messages contain a link for you to click and rearrange delivery.

But when you click the link, you’re taken to a spoof page which steals your information as soon as you enter it.

This allows the scammer behind it to use those details to access your online accounts. Or gives them access to your device.

This is called smishing. The cell phone equivalent of phishing. You and your people need to be aware and ultra-vigilant.

What’s lead to this surge in smishing attempts? How successful it is.

98% of SMS messages are opened, and 45% are replied to. This is a much higher open rate than emails (which have an open rate of around 20%). So, it means a statistically higher success rate for the scammers behind the messages.

Beware of any unexpected SMS messages asking you to take an action by clicking a link or calling a number. If you’re unsure if it’s a genuine message, contact the company direct using the details on their website or any paperwork you have from them.

Make sure your whole team knows about this form of attack, too. If they’re using their smart phones to access work files then a smishing attempt to their personal device is also putting your business data at risk.

Posted at 28 June 21