The Indian government has warned against a new scam called ‘Smishing’. A portmanteau of SMS and Phishing, the scam uses misleading texts to trick users into revealing confidential information. Smishing scams often deceit users as legitimate communication from trusted sources, such as banks, government agencies, or well-known brands. With the reliance on mobile phones growing, smishing has emerged as a significant threat.
Smishing messages often create a sense of urgency, compelling recipients to take immediate action. They might request personal information like credit card numbers, social security details, or login credentials, under the guise of security verification or account updates. It occurs on many mobile texts messaging platforms, including non-SMS channels like data-based mobile messaging apps.
Anyone becoming a victim of Smishing inadvertently can dial 1930 to report online financial fraud and report any cybercrime at cybercrime.gov.in. It is better to avoid clicking on suspicious links or sharing personal information over text messages, especially if they are unsolicited.
As more and more people use their personal smartphones for work (a trend called BYOD, or "bring your own device") smishing is becoming a business threat as well as a consumer threat. So, it should come as no surprise that smishing has become the leading form of malicious text messages.
