GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is reminding the community that smishing schemes are on the rise and to be on the lookout for suspicious text messages.
Smishing is a social engineering attack that uses fake text messages to trick people into downloading malware, share sensitive information or to send money to cybercriminals.
This form of hacking has become an increasingly popular form of cybercrime. According to Proofpoint’s 2023 State of the Phish report, 76% of organizations experienced smishing attacks in 2022.
Hackers, often called “smishers,” understand that victims will likely tap on a text message than other links. But, with the advances in spam folders, this has made it harder for phishing emails and phone calls to reach victims.
Smishing attacks are similar to some phishing attacks but for these attacks, hackers use phony messages and malicious links to fool people into compromising their phones, bank accounts and personal data.
But these smishing attacks are only done through SMS or messaging apps, rather than emails or calls.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about these attacks and has given a list of scenarios that scammers might use when texting victims:
Pretending to be a financial institutionPretending to be the governmentPretending to be customer supportPretending to be a shipperPretending to be a boss or colleaguePretending to text the wrong numberPretending to be locked out of an accountPretending to offer free apps
If you or anyone you know has received a suspicious text message:
Don’t click on any linksDon’t send moneyDon’t share personal informationDon’t send login credentials
If you do get tricked and send any of this information, please contact law enforcement immediately. But otherwise, if you receive a smishing message, just delete it.
For more information about smishing attacks, go to the United States Secret Service website.
