The Rise and Rise of Smishing

Whilst we must not lose sight of good old fashion Phishing, Spear Phishing and Whaling which still seem to catch out the unwary this weeks news bulletin from IT Ambulance seeks to highlight a relatively new but quite abundant tactic of scammers now labelled Smishing. Often guised at Evri (Hermes Parcels new identity)

What is Smishing?

Smishing is Phishing by SMS message. There is usually some sort of social engineering component to this approach so its likely that they know you have previously used the courier or bought from eBay etc.

Why?

The objective is to get you to click on the link and get you to give up your details. Name, Address, Telephone. In the case of some messages promising redelivery of a parcel you may have to pay a redelivery fee so these seek to get you to part with your Credit Card details.

What can you do to stop getting caught?

It would be advisable never to open a link on a mail like these. Simply the risk is that the link intalls malware of some kind on your phone. In the event of an Android phone this may be as vulnerable as a PC with no AntiVirus. Even iPhones can be vulnerable to attack and that is possibly news to iPhone users who seem to think they are immune.

All courier companies have websites where you can track a package or even apps that allow some sort of Bona fide communication with the company. Check there but if you aren’t expecting a parcel then save your time