Beware of Smishing, this clever scam that is increasing the number of victims in France and around the world!
Smishing, a new form of phishing via text message, is spreading in France, causing concern among law enforcement. This scam, which is difficult to detect, exploits the trust citizens place in SMS.
A clever and sophisticated deception
Smishing, or SMS phishing, is a scam that is constantly evolving. It accounts for less than 300,000 victims worldwide every day. Its modus operandi involves sending an SMS posing as a known institution like a bank, insurance company, etc. This text will prompt the user to transfer money or call a premium rate number, intended to withdraw money. In some cases, the message may include the victim’s first and last name, encouraging them to believe. To explain further, scammers resort to buying personal annuities from specialized companies.
On the other hand, Janet Lin, head of development at Taiwanese cyber security company PINTrust, during a talk at MWC, pointed out the reason for the increase in the number of victims of these scams. “ Many people have a high level of confidence in the security of mobile communications “, he explained. Therefore, ” Click-through rates on links sent via mobile are eight times higher than links received via email ” This worries the authorities. Especially since the amount generated by this scam is often very significant.
How to avoid falling?
According to experts, the best strategy to combat this menace is prevention. Because, despite the very efficient filtering system put in place by telephone operators, scammers always find a way to reach their targets. They emphasize caution and the importance of not blaming the text messages in question even if they seem realistic. Indeed, the senders of these fraudulent text messages tend to mimic the appearance of text messages sent by well-known organizations to make their victims believe.
Also, authorities recommend never calling the numbers that appear in these text messages, and especially not giving out your bank details. In case of receiving a suspicious message, customers are required to report it to the responsible authorities. In France, there is a number to which you can send these messages to report. It is 33,700.
