Sept. 6, 2024
Have you ever stopped to think about all the dangers that lurk behind the text messages you receive? As much as we use our cell phone to communicate, SMS attacks pose a real threat to things we care about and our safety. They exploit the trust we have in text messages to deceive us into sharing our data, or into installing malicious software. In this post I'll cover all the different types of SMS attacks, and how cybercriminals exploit the trust of ordinary people. I'll also give you some tips on how you can defend yourself. If you know what to look out for, and take the right steps, you can boost your security and keep your personal information safe.
SMS attacks put anyone with a mobile device at risk, because attackers can convert text messages into so many different kinds of cyber-attacks. And that's really bad because it could mean someone stealing your data, putting malware on your phone, all kinds of really bad things. Because we rely so much on mobile devices for communication, we've all got to understand how they work. Cyber-criminals leverage text messages to trick you and exploit the trust you place in this form of communication.
Text message attacks are just a bunch of different ways to trick you into giving away your personal information, or to download malware onto your phone. As attackers get smarter and smarter, the risk just keeps on going up, so you have to stay alert.
Don't make up numbers. Don't have numbers: 1. Only have numbers: only in your output.
SMS attacks are effective largely because people trust text messages. We don't trust email. We're taught not to trust email. It has spam filters. It has security controls that make you untrusting of it. But text messages? They're personal. They're on your phone. They're trustworthy! People are significantly more trusting of SMS than they are of email.
And attackers take advantage of that. They're sending texts from familiar numbers, in familiar situations. For instance, they're sending SMS alerts from recognizable, huge companies and organizations, logos and all! The familiarity really sets people at ease, and they're not scrutinizing it often. But with us all receiving more SMS, we need to be increasingly skeptical of them.
SMS malware is a type of malicious software sent via text that is designed to damage mobile devices. It can do lots of harmful things, such as making unauthorized changes to user data or blocking access to user data altogether. SMS malware is often disguised as legitimate apps or tools, which can make it very difficult for the user to detect.
For example, you might receive a text message that contains a link claiming you need to update your software. If you click the link, not only will malware be installed on your device, it may also lead to serious data breaches or data loss. That's why it's important to use caution with your device and to remember that not all messages are safe. Malware can have serious consequences for your personal and financial security.
The opportunity for SMS attacks has risen with the increased use of smartphones, making it more risky and even more reason for people to put greater emphasis on security, because people are using their phones to bank, shop and communicate with family, so attackers know they've got a good shot at a high value target.
The more people use smartphones, the more they need to protect themselves. In order to protect themselves, they need to be aware, they have to know what's happening to be able to do something about it. Giving people the knowledge and tools to identify and guard against SMS risks, like not clicking on links from strangers and watching their accounts, will be an effective way to reduce the effectiveness of these attacks.
In the end, the best defense and offense in the fight against SMS attacks is to stay alert and be prepared.
In the digital age, SMS can be a huge security risk for individuals and businesses. It's when someone uses text messages to try to get you to do something, or for something bad to happen. It's a type of online fraud. Knowing what to look out for can help you protect yourself against them.
Smishing, or SMS phishing, is when fraudsters send SMS messages that appear to come from someone you trust, in an effort to trick that person into giving up sensitive information. It could look like your bank, it could look like the government, it could look like anything you'd just believe. For example, a message claiming there's an issue with your bank account and you need to click a link to sort it out.
The hook with smishing is the play on emotions, playing on emotions to manipulate the individual, and often making them feel a sense of urgency or fear. Someone might get a message demanding they must perform an urgent action or their account will be disabled, and tons of people fall for this and hand everything over. The fraudsters are always changing and adapting their game to throw off detection, and smishing remains a huge risk to mobile messaging. The best defense against this risk is to continue educating and reminding people to be on their guard against unexpected communications and think before acting.
SMS spoofing is another way scammers try to trick people. By changing the sender ID, they can make their messages appear as though they're coming from someone you know or a reputable company. It can look really real, and people often hand over sensitive info like their passwords or account details. The consequences of SMS spoofing include identity theft, financial loss, and damage to company reputation.
The emotional cost of spoofing can be high. If people think they're talking to someone they know, they're less likely to question the requests—and in turn less protected from identity theft and fraud. That's why it is important to recognize a spoofed SMS; it might have bad spelling, or a number you don't recognize, or it might try to rush you into action. If you're cautious about every text you receive and you question its legitimacy, you won't fall for spoofed SMS.
SMS malware is a type of malware that is transmitted over text messages and is specifically designed to exploit mobile device security. It usually entails people clicking on links in text messages and is directed to a page where they are prompted to install an application. Once installed, the malware can steal personal information, monitor your activity, or can even allow the attacker to take over your phone.
The results of SMS malware can be severe and may include things like unauthorized transactions or a major invasion of your privacy. For instance, some of the most common kinds of SMS malware are trojanized versions of popular apps, which people install unknowingly. That's why it's important to consider mobile security, refrain from clicking links from people or numbers you don't recognize, keep your device up to date, and use some kind of security software for protection.
SMS pumping is a type of fraud in which cybercriminals manipulate an SMS system, often one behind a web form. In this scenario, cybercriminals leverage bots to fill an online system with premium rate phone numbers they control. They can then make money from the carriers. In other words, they can stuff an online form with thousands of premium numbers and that'll cause the carrier to bill someone thousands of dollars.
To detect and prevent SMS pumping, businesses should be on the lookout for any unexpected spikes in SMS traffic and patterns of suspicious automation. To protect against SMS pumping, they should rely on CAPTCHA, rate limiting, phone number verification, and other measures, and continually monitor and mitigate their risks, so they can make their organization more secure and better protected, without increasing their attack surface, if at all, any more than necessary.
Deceptive messages in phishing attacks that target individuals create a sense of fear or urgency, so people act without thinking. It might be a message that tells them to act right away, or describes some type of scary situation like their account being compromised and they need to update something important, and the recipients are prompted to give up sensitive information or click on links that are malicious.
They can come in all shapes and forms, and the attack might look shockingly convincing, often using the real branding and logos to trick you. Every phishing attempt is a type of manipulation, and it's playing on some sort of short-term fear or reaction. For people and for businesses, awareness is key. Knowing these types of tactics and having some sort of employee training in place is a huge step in protecting yourself against phishing attempts.
The landscape of SMS attacks is always changing. By being aware and by being mindful, individuals and businesses can begin to mitigate some of the risks of text messaging in our increasingly digital world.
A common type of smishing is to send a text that appears to be from a bank. In these cases, they'd text you a message where they pretend to be a bank and request sensitive information such as your account number, password, or verification codes. Why do they do it? To "secure your account." For example, you could receive a text like "Your Wells Fargo account has been compromised. Please login to verify your account." And they'd include a link, and when you click on it, it would take you to a website that looks like Wells Fargo's where you'd input your username and password. These crooks take advantage of the trust we have in the financial institutions and create a sense of urgency that prompts you to act fast without pausing to check who actually sent the message.
Phishing campaigns often masquerade as well known brands, especially delivery services or tech companies. For example, you could receive an unexpected text claiming to be from a major package delivery service saying you have a package waiting, and need to confirm your address by clicking a link they provide. They can be very convincing, with official logos and formatting to make them look very real. The objective of these attacks is to deceive users into giving up their personal information, like credit card details, by sending them to look-alike websites that are indistinguishable from the real thing.
In another not-funny example of SMS hack, Cisco Duo recently experienced a large breach where SMS logs were exposed following a phishing attack against their telco that led to unauthorized access to SMS and VoIP logs that power the MFA messages for their customers. About 1,000 people were affected, again demonstrating how vulnerabilities in third-party services can introduce risk to your business. Long story short: even if you've got 2FA in place, it doesn't mean it actually works. There are quite a few good MFA bypasses out there.
A security research company recently uncovered a particularly alarming trend in SMS phishing aimed at Apple ID-holders. Attackers were posing as legitimate Apple notifications, sending texts to individuals prompting them to verify account information by clicking on a link to a bogus website. The messages often contain language intended to alarm the recipient and instructs them to 'act now' to secure their account. It's a cynical exploitation of fear and consumer faith in the Apple name.
SMS fraud is crazy pants. A whopping 11.94 billion spam texts were reported in May 2022 -- holy cannoli! That's a whole lot of phishing! It's scary and speaks to end user knowledge, but also cybersecurity companies not doing their jobs. With so many spam texts out there, it's important for people to be informed, and know what to watch out for, and how to protect themselves.
Equipped with knowledge of these real-life SMS scam examples, individuals and businesses can better protect themselves from would-be phishing attackers, and not get caught in the widening net of these increasingly sophisticated scams.
In today's world of ubiquitous mobile communication, SMS attacks, like any other scam, are designed to exploit our trust in the medium. Once you understand the ins and outs of these attacks, you'll realize how dangerous communicating through SMS can be.
People <3 doing SMS attacks for a multitude of reasons, but one of the top reasons is that they can capitalize on a trusted channel. Most people consider texting to be an extremely direct and personal form of communication, so when they receive a text message, they’re likely to read it. SMS is also almost instantaneous, so you can send a message to a million people and they’ll all get it right now. For instance, if you receive an SMS from the “IRS” asking you to confirm your SSN, you might trust it and just do it because you trust SMS. That’s a big reason why smishing (SMS phishing) attacks are so prevalent. In fact, 75% of organizations experienced smishing attacks in 2023, illustrating just how widespread this exposure tends to be.
Plus, scammers are major pros in social engineering. They really know how to push your buttons, so by the time you receive that SMS, you’ll definitely do what they ask. For instance, they’ll say “IRS ALERT: Suspicious account activity, verify your SSN now: http://phishingwebsite.com” and you’ll probably tap that link. Trust and urgency are a dangerous combination, and that’s how people end up giving away a lot of money or getting infected with malware.
SMS social engineering is pretty effective. Cybercriminals can engineer scenarios where you feel like you have to act fast and don't have time to think—like posing as customer support or even as the government, to get you to hand over your info or your money. These are the kinds of scams that play on our minds. Our brains are hardwired to follow instructions more closely when they come from an authority figure or when we're in a situation where we need to act urgently. And they're scary because you might not know it's happening until it's already too late.
They have a higher open rate than email, so they're even more effective in the end. In general, people are more likely to open a text message than an email, even though only email gets sent through spam filters to protect us. In general, people are more likely to fall for a text scam than an email scam.
SMS is handy but has some very big security drawbacks. To begin, SMS is not very secure. Unlike modern messaging applications, SMS was not designed to be secure, so messages can be intercepted or spoofed. Cybercriminals can use this to their advantage to gain access to sensitive data or to impersonate people, leading to identity theft, financial fraud and more. A recent study found that organizations have a 76% chance of falling victim to a smishing attack, so the risk is very real.
Not only that, SMS's age leaves it susceptible to other security risks. The entire mobile ecosystem has advanced, and SMS hasn't kept pace in terms of security. Criminals exploit this outdated trust to deceive individuals into revealing personal information or falling for scams that cost them a lot of money. Relying on such an old, insecure technology not only puts you at risk, but your entire organization as well, leaving you open to potential financial and reputational damage.
SMS attacks are a risk to individual users, but the stakes for organizations are much higher, and can result in issues like identity theft and financial fraud. When victims of these attacks give up personal info, the implications can be severe. The information shared with attackers can result in unauthorized transactions, compromised bank accounts, and other illicit behavior that represents a very real risk to their financial security.
Attackers often employ a tactic where they ask seemingly harmless questions via SMS to elicit information that can be used to carry out more sophisticated attacks (account takeover, data breaches, etc). The truth is, these risks are only growing, and you as an individual will need to be more cautious and diligent in securing your digital life. And while new, more secure protocols like RCS exist, because they're so new you're still vulnerable to the same old SMS risks from years (even decades) ago.
The deeper you dig into the subject, the more fully you understand the scope and scale of the risks that messaging protocol weaknesses present to individuals and businesses as messaging evolves.
In the digital age, it seems like scam text messages (smishing) are more prevalent than ever. Cybercriminals continually develop new and sophisticated SMS attacks to trick you into giving away personal information. To protect yourself from these types of potential threats, you'll need to act in advance and prevent smishing. Here are some of our top tips for staying safe.
Smishing is a combination of SMS and phishing, where the attacker manipulates trust and human nature to their advantage, getting the victim to do what they want under the false impression that they're someone else. You should always be suspicious of messages from people you don't know, and especially if they're trying to scare you or make you feel rushed. If you do get a worm on your phone, don't tap the message right away. Take a second to verify it through official channels (like calling the sender back, or visiting their official site). Just by educating yourself and keeping your wits about you, you can reduce your risk of falling for these tricks by 99%.
No fear—your device is probably safe! Like the Nigerian prince example, the worm we just sent you is harmless. We'll even give you directions on how to find and delete it later so you can see for yourself!
Hackers typically gain access to your system by using malicious links or attachments in emails that can take you to fake web pages that ask for your information or download something you don't want. You don't have to click on any links or download any attachments you weren't expecting or don't know the sender of. Instead, verify the request through official channels. For example, if you get a text that appears to be from your bank, don't reply to the text—open your bank app or visit your bank's website to see if there is a message about your account. If you do things like this, you should be able to avoid giving your information to a bad person by mistake.
To help protect yourself from being smished, one of the best defenses is to use multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA just adds an extra layer of security, by asking for more than just your password to confirm it's really you. This could be a text message code, or a push notification from an authentication app. That way, if someone has your password, they'd still have to do something else to get in. As smishing becomes more common, MFA will be an important tool in keeping your digital self safe.
Teaching others, whether that's your friends, family, or colleagues, is a great way to combat SMS attacks. The more people that are aware of the risk and the more they know about what to look out for, the more suspicious and vigilant they'll be. Talk about recognizing a suspicious message, remind them never to trust a message out of nowhere, and tell them stories about the time you nearly were scammed. The more people around you who know how to spot these tricks, the more everyone is protected as a group.
Equipping your phone with a good security suite really is your first line of defense against smishing and a whole host of other digital dangers. A lot of the more sophisticated security apps can identify dangerous texts and block them from ever reaching your device. Real-time malware scanning, phishing protection, spam filtering -- all that stuff is really going to bulk up your device's immune system. Keeping everything up to date and running security checks will ensure you have a strong shield on your device, and even if an SMS threat does manage to slip through, it won't be able to pull off much at all.
Keep these habits in mind in your everyday, and you'll be more than ready to fend off SMS attacks. In-the-know, be-watchful, and secure will mean you can be online with confidence.
SMS attacks are becoming more and more prevalent in the mobile communication space, and they come in all sorts of disguises like smishing, spoofing, and SMS malware, preying on trusting users. Attackers will send messages pretending to be real organizations and try to use urgency to pressure you into giving them your information or installing malicious software on your phone. In this article, we'll explore why these attacks work so well, with the air of credibility that SMS carries, as well as the psychological manipulation of urgency and fear. We'll also look at real-life instances of SMS phishing and the very real harm it can cause, like identity theft and financial fraud. Finally, we'll discuss why awareness, security habits, and communal knowledge sharing are so critical in the fight against SMS attacks to continue to use the digital world safely and productively.
SMS scams are a type of cyber threat that use text messages to manipulate mobile users. Scammers may employ any number of tactics to fool you, from impersonating someone you know to fish for personal details, to tricking you into downloading malware onto your phone. The direct nature of the ask and the emotional trigger tend to lead users to comply with the request without understanding what they're actually doing.
Smishing is the combination of SMS and phishing, and occurs when attackers use deceptive text messages to impersonate legitimate entities, often creating a false sense of urgency. These messages can deceive victims into revealing sensitive information such as account credentials, and can present a few significant risks to personal data and financial security.
People are more likely to trust and take at face value an SMS message than an email, and this trust makes them less wary of what they read. Making them easier to con, particularly when bad actors employ a trusted name and a familiar scenario in their attack.
SMS malware is malware sent over text messages that can infect your phone. They may look like normal apps, but can lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, and a lot of money out of your pocket.
SMS spoofing occurs when an attacker impersonates someone else, which can cause you to unwittingly share sensitive information. To stay safe, be wary of unfamiliar numbers, be on the lookout for signs of poorly worded messages, and confirm requests through official channels.
If you receive a suspicious text, don't click any links or respond to the text. Instead, verify with the sender through official channels (i.e. not by clicking any links or responding to the text) or by going to their official website. That way, you won't be a victim of smishing.
MFA, or multi-factor authentication, adds an extra layer of security by requiring more than just a password to access your accounts—it may also require a second form of verification, like a texted code. This makes it more secure because it's not enough for attackers to have just the password.
By sharing information on smishing tactics, having conversations on how to spot suspicious messages, and emphasizing the importance of verification, you can help educate your friends and family, and in turn, all of you are making the community as a whole stronger against SMS-harbored threats.
Good security software can be your first line of defense against SMS threats, detecting malicious messages, blocking, and scanning your phone for malware. Keeping them updated and checking in regularly can help protect your phone from the ever-evolving landscape of SMS attacks.
This will help people recognize the common tactics attackers use, and anticipate threats before they happen—which is important because it helps foster a healthy skepticism of all unsolicited messages, decreasing the likelihood that anyone will take the bait.
A mobile phone receiving fraudulent SMS texts relating to sms attacks.
SMS Check