It’s not Phishing now, it’s SMishing

Phishing has kept us awake at nights. It has racked our computers, spread viruses, and so on. The unlucky ones, who fell in the trap of such phishing attacks, paid it with their hard earned cash. Phishing has become such a dread that we think twice before opening an e-mail. But, as if phishing was not enough, its Smishing now.

One of the recent incidents of Smishing occurred when a Professor of Criminology at Monmouth University, Brion Sever, living in Tinton Falls, received an automated voice mail message on his cell phone, which for a few moments put him off guard. He received a voice mail that said that his Wells Fargo Account has been compromised. Sever knew better, but he himself agreed that the message left him spooked and impressed. It was an automated computer voice very well done and highly sophisticated, according to Sever.

What happened to Sever was Smishing, which is a high-tech con where a scammer sends messages through phone and not through a computer. The term Smishing, sometimes spelled SMiShing, is a combination of SMS and phishing.

Though Sever did not receive such messages after the said incident, it nevertheless cannot be ruled out that it won’t happen again because people delete such messages and thus these happenings go unreported.

Not very long ago, scammers sent text messages that read “WELLS FARGO NOTICE: Your CARD 4868* has been DEACTIVATED”. The message also had a phone number. Once the receiver of the message dialed the number, it would ask for the person’s personal and bank account information.

Wells Fargo would never ask for any such information, if anyone receives such calls they can report to them by calling or visiting their website. The FBI has advised victims to report such messages to The Internet Crime Complaint Center.