How to avoid Smishing Attacks

Earlier this afternoon I received a text message that claimed to be from AIB.  The message stated that my AIB online access is frozen, due to irregular activity within my account and I had to click a link provided as urgent action is required. I don’t have an account with AIB but some of the people that they contact will. When I clicked the link a very good facsimile AIB website popped up as you can see below.

What I had received is known as smishing and there is currently an increase in the level of smishing activity targeted towards Irish consumers.

So what is smishing?

Smishing (a combination of the words SMS and Phishing) is a scam where fraudsters send fraudulent text messages to customers, claiming to be from a reputable organisation such as a bank, card issuer or another service provider.

The message will typically ask you to click on a link to a website or to call a phone number in order to “verify”, “update” or to “reactivate” your account. The link leads to a bogus website where the criminal will attempt to get you to disclose personal, financial or security information, which will then be used to steal your money.

Similar to phishing, the messages often attempt to alarm you, claiming that urgent action is needed or it will have negative consequences. Smishing scams have increased in frequency and sophistication during the COVID-19 period, with scammers targeting customers as they spend larger amounts of time on their computer or phone.

Brian Hayes, CEO at Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, told Irish Tech News: “Always be wary of any unexpected calls or texts which appear to be from your bank, especially those asking for personal or security details. Fraudsters can be very convincing but don’t be afraid to take your time and make the relevant checks. If in doubt you should contact your bank directly to check if the communication is legitimate.”

FraudSMART is a fraud awareness initiative developed by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) in conjunction with the following member banks, Allied Irish Bank plc, Bank of Ireland, KBC Bank Ireland, PermanentTSB and Ulster Bank. They are taking smishing seriously and offer the following advice:

1. Do not respond to unsolicited text / SMS messages before independently validating that it is who it says it is from. You can do this by:
? Looking up the phone number on the back of your bank card and contact them directly to validate
? Do not use a phone number given to you in the text (this could be a fake number)

2. Do not click on a link or attachment from unsolicited emails or text messages.

3. Do not be rushed. Take your time and make the appropriate checks.

4. Never give away personal information, bank account details or security details such as your PIN or online password to anyone.

5. If you think you might have responded to a smishing text message please contact your bank immediately.

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