In 2021 the Federal Trade Commission logged 378,119 fraud complaints about unwanted text messages, including smishing attempts. A scammer can target anyone, but those unaware of how to protect themselves are at a higher risk of falling for the scam. According to a MEF report from 2017, there are 14 types of frauds that scammers can do within business messaging, and smishing is one of them. There are, in turn, many different types of smishing scams, including fake customer support questions, delivery notifications, invoice confirmations, password resets, two-factor authentication, and gift card offers.
So, what can a SMS scam lead to? Fraudsters want to receive personal information from the receiver, such as account usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, date of birth, credit card numbers, PIN codes, or other sensitive information. After coming across this sensitive information, scammers use it to carry out crimes like identity theft and financial fraud.
How to identify a SMS scam
To protect yourself from smishing scams, it's important to be cautious when receiving text messages from unknown or unverified sources. Here are a few tips for identifying a smishing scam:
- Think twice before opening a text message from an unfamiliar sender.
- Check the spelling, language, and URL of the message. Scammers may use fake URLs or misspell words to trick you. For example, if the sender directs you to a page on our website, the URL should be www.lekab.com and not www.Iekab.io
- Look at the phone number. The first few numbers can reveal the country the message is coming from.
- If you are using a rich messaging app like RCS, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, look for a verified badge above the message thread (see the green badge below). This indicates that the sender has been authenticated by the app.
Even though smishing translates to SMS phishing, this type of fraud is not limited to SMS messages. Scammers may also use other messaging channels, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, to send phishing messages. To stay safe, use the same caution and scepticism when receiving messages on these platforms as you would with SMS messages.
Smishing messages often urge the receiver to do something as soon as possible and have an element of urgency. But you should not be fooled by that. Instead, take your time to investigate whether the message is authentic and do not do anything a suspicious message asks you to do. That is the rule to follow.
How companies can protect themselves from SMS Fraud
Fraud can have serious consequences for companies, including loss of customers, legal costs, and intellectual property theft. To prevent these types of losses, it's important for companies to educate their customers on how to identify and avoid fraud.
Here are some proactive steps companies can take to protect themselves against scams:
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Communicate with customers about the types of information and requests your company typically includes via text messages. This can help customers verify the authenticity of a message.
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Listen to customer complaints about fraudsters impersonating your company, and take the necessary actions to prevent similar issues in the future.
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Inform customers about the sender ID so they can confirm that a message is genuinely from your business. If your company does not used a protected alphanumeric sender ID, contact us at LEKAB and we'll help you set one up.
We take our customers’ security seriously
As a member of the industry association MORGAN, we actively work to combating fraud and enhancing the security of A2P messaging. LEKAB's solutions secure the entire communication chain – from Sender ID Protection to technical access. With role-based access to our platform and geographic restrictions, we minimise the risk of unauthorised access, incorrect traffic, and international fraud attempts.
If you want to learn more about how LEKAB combat fraud and how you can protect your business, contact us today. We'll be happy to discuss how our solutions can help you stay secure and ensure your business messaging remains a trusted and effective communication channel.
ABOUT LEKAB
LEKAB provides mobile messaging services, messaging APIs and software for advanced messaging and process automation. We offer digital tools and solutions to companies that want to optimise how they communicate and interact with customers and employees on the mobile to improve productivity, availability and the customer experience through mobile channels. Do you want to know more or ask us for advice? Contact Us!