Is that text message real—or is it smishing?
Even if you’ve never heard the word “smishing,” you’ve likely encountered it. Smishing is a version of phishing—but instead of email, it most often arrives via a text on your phone.
As in all types of phishing scams, the message attempts to appear from a reputable source to trick you into following a link you shouldn’t, opening an attachment or revealing personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers. The scammers may also offer you a deal or ask for a charitable donation. If you receive a smishing attempt, don’t be alarmed. To truly get phished, you need to take some type of action (like clicking a link you shouldn’t). Simply receiving a smish won’t result in any damage.
How to protect yourself from smishing
- Add your number to the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry (Source: donotcall.gov). You only need to add your number once, as registrations do not expire.
- Ignore the smishing message.
- Don’t click on any links.
- Don’t open any attachments.
- Don’t respond to any requests.
- Block the sender and forward the text to SPAM (7726).
- Update your phone’s security settings.
- Change your phone’s settings to filter out unknown senders:
- For iPhones: click Settings>Messages>Customize Notifications, and disable Unknown Senders to stop unwanted alerts.
- For Android phones: tap the three dots in messages>Settings>Spam Protection, and check the Enable Spam Protection toggle. Once enabled, your phone will analyze texts and auto-block messages that look suspicious.
- Change your phone’s settings to filter out unknown senders:
- If a smishing message makes you feel physically threatened, please contact your local police department.