IT’S pretty easy to text or call the wrong number but some cybercriminals take advantage of this.
If you ever receive a suspicious text that isn’t addressed to you then you may want to consider deleting it.
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A quick scan through my own iPhone Messages app reveals several of these potential scam texts.
One reads: “Melissa Vinea paid you $100.00 Uber eats gift”.
This is not a known contact to me nor true.
Another says: “Hi Manny, are you around this weekend?”
Another from the same number reads: “How are you looking tomorrow?”
These may seem like innocent mistakes but scammers rely on you being a good samaritan and replying to correct the mistake.
Some texts like this may very well be a mistake but others are scams looking to rope you into a conversation.
You may be asked to send money as part of a fake accidental payment scam or you may be asked for personal details.
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Scammers are also known to use this technique to get you to sign up for services you don’t want or need.
This includes pyramid schemes.
How to avoid “smashing”
Smishing is essentially the same as phishing, the common email scam technique that tries to get you to give away personal data.
Experts at Security Intelligence refer to smishing as the “SMS cousin” of phishing.
You can set up spam protection on your phone to try and stop smishing.
On Android, there’s an “Enable spam protection” feature.
Apple has a “Filter Unknown Senders” feature on its iPhone that can flag strange messages.
You should also follow the common techniques to spot phishing.
You should be thorough when checking who the text is from.
Even if it looks official, you should double-check the email and look for any spelling mistakes or slight abnormalities in the sender’s email address.
Never feel pressured into opening an attachment and avoid clicking the phrase “enable content.”
You should also be wary of links in text messages.
If you’re certain a text you have received is a scam then delete it.
