Most people are aware of phishing – or email scams – but they may not realize scammers can also target them with deceptive text messages sent to their smart devices. The term,”smishing” is a mashup of SMS, which stands for “short message service.”
A smishing scam message may seem like it’s coming from the credit union. This is how the scammer tricks you into clicking on a link or replying to a message. When you click or reply it gives the scammer the opportunity to manipulate personal information. It is important to validate any suspicious texts by contacting the credit union or company or directly so they can confirm whether the text was legitimate or not.
Avoid being a victim of a smishing attempt by:
- Never clicking on links, replying to text messages or calls you do not recognize
- Not responding, even if the message requests that you “text STOP” to end messages
- Deleting all suspicious texts right away
- Installing anti-malware software for added security
*Avoid the Temptation of Smishing Scams, Terri Miller, Federal Communications Commission.