Brand Monitoring
Brand Protection Threat Intelligence Phishing
Brand monitoring is the practice of tracking your company’s name and digital assets across the internet to detect …
Contents
Smishing (SMS phishing) is a social engineering attack that uses text messages to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links. The term combines “SMS” and “phishing.”
Your employees get dozens of text messages daily. Smishing exploits that familiarity. A message appears to come from a bank, delivery service, or even your IT department. It creates urgency. Click this link. Verify your account. Your package is stuck.
The link leads to a credential harvesting page or triggers a malware download. Within seconds, attackers have what they need.
How Does Smishing Work?
Smishing attacks follow a predictable pattern.
Spoofed sender identity. Attackers spoof phone numbers to appear as legitimate businesses. The text might show your bank’s name or a recognizable short code. Phone networks make sender verification difficult, so spoofing is trivially easy.
Urgency and fear. The message creates pressure to act immediately. Your account will be locked. Your package will be returned. You owe back taxes. Urgency bypasses critical thinking.
Malicious payload. The text contains either a link to a fake login page or instructions to call a fraudulent number. Some smishing attacks deliver malware directly, especially on Android devices that allow sideloading apps.
Credential harvesting. Victims enter usernames and passwords on convincing fake sites. These credentials get used immediately for account takeover or sold on dark web markets.
Common Smishing Attack Types
Attackers adapt smishing to exploit current events and trusted brands.
Package Delivery Scams
Fake notifications claim a package couldn’t be delivered. The link leads to a phishing page requesting payment information or login credentials. These spiked during the pandemic when online shopping surged.
Banking Alerts
Messages warn of suspicious activity or locked accounts. Victims click links to “verify” their identity on fake banking portals. The stolen credentials enable immediate account takeover.
Government Impersonation
Tax refund notifications, stimulus payment alerts, and benefit verification requests. These exploit trust in government institutions and promise money to increase urgency.
IT Department Requests
Texts claiming to be from your company’s IT team. They request password verification, MFA codes, or link clicks to “update security settings.” These target corporate credentials specifically.
Toll Road and Parking Scams
The FBI warned about smishing campaigns impersonating toll collection services. Victims receive texts about unpaid tolls with links to fraudulent payment pages.
Why Is Smishing Effective?
Smishing works better than email phishing for several reasons.
Higher trust. People are conditioned to distrust email spam but still trust text messages. SMS feels personal and legitimate.
Mobile limitations. Phone screens make it harder to inspect URLs before clicking. You can’t hover over links to preview destinations like you can on desktop.
Immediate delivery. Texts arrive with notifications that demand attention. Email can sit unread. Texts get checked immediately.
Less filtering. Email spam filters catch most phishing attempts. SMS filtering is less mature and less consistent across carriers.
Real-World Smishing Examples
These attacks caused significant damage.
Twilio breach (2022). Attackers used smishing to compromise Twilio employee credentials. The campaign impersonated Twilio’s IT department, directing employees to a fake login page. The breach affected over 130 organizations that used Twilio’s services.
Uber breach (2022). Social engineering including SMS-based attacks led to a significant breach. Attackers bombarded an employee with MFA requests while sending smishing messages impersonating IT support.
USPS smishing campaigns. Ongoing campaigns impersonate the US Postal Service with fake package delivery notifications. These target millions of Americans with credential-harvesting links.
How to Detect Smishing Attempts
Train your team to recognize these warning signs.
Unexpected messages. You didn’t order a package. You don’t have that bank account. Your company doesn’t send password reset requests via SMS.
Urgency language. “Act now,” “immediate action required,” “your account will be suspended.” Legitimate organizations rarely create this pressure via text.
Suspicious links. URL shorteners, misspelled domains, or unfamiliar addresses. When in doubt, navigate directly to the company’s website instead of clicking.
Requests for sensitive data. No legitimate company asks for passwords, full credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers via text message.
Grammar and spelling errors. While attackers have improved, many smishing messages still contain obvious errors.
How to Prevent Smishing Attacks
Protection requires technical controls and user awareness.
Security awareness training. Teach employees to recognize smishing attempts. Include simulated smishing tests in your security training program. Make reporting suspicious messages easy.
Mobile device management. MDM solutions can block access to known malicious URLs. They also enable remote wipe if a device is compromised.
Multi-factor authentication. MFA protects accounts even when credentials are stolen through smishing. Use phishing-resistant MFA like hardware keys when possible.
Credential monitoring. Dark web monitoring detects when credentials stolen through smishing appear on criminal markets. Early detection enables password resets before attackers exploit the exposure.
Reporting mechanisms. In the US, UK, and Canada, forward smishing texts to 7726 (SPAM) to report them to carriers. This helps improve SMS filtering for everyone.
Smishing vs Other Social Engineering Attacks
Smishing is one attack vector in a broader landscape.
| Attack Type | Delivery Method | Common Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Smishing | SMS text messages | Mobile users, general public |
| Phishing | Corporate employees | |
| Vishing | Voice calls | Finance departments, executives |
| Whaling | C-suite executives |
Attackers often combine methods. A smishing text might be followed by a vishing call to increase pressure. Business email compromise attacks sometimes use SMS to verify fraudulent wire transfer requests.
Conclusion
Smishing exploits the trust people place in text messages. As mobile devices become primary computing platforms, these attacks will increase.
Defense requires awareness, technical controls, and monitoring. When smishing succeeds and credentials are stolen, credential monitoring catches the exposure before attackers can exploit it.
Check if your organization’s credentials are already exposed with a free dark web scan.
Smishing FAQ
Smishing is phishing delivered via SMS text messages. Attackers send texts pretending to be banks, delivery services, or IT departments. The messages contain malicious links or request sensitive information. It’s effective because people trust text messages more than email.
Phishing uses email. Smishing uses SMS text messages. Both try to steal credentials or install malware. Smishing often has higher success rates because text messages feel more personal and urgent. Email spoofing enables email phishing, while smishing exploits phone number spoofing.
Watch for urgent language demanding immediate action. Check for suspicious links with misspelled domains or URL shorteners. Legitimate companies don’t ask for passwords or account numbers via text. When in doubt, contact the company directly through their official website or app.
Package delivery notifications claiming your shipment is stuck. Bank alerts about suspicious activity requiring immediate verification. Tax refund messages from fake government agencies. IT department requests to verify your login credentials. Each creates urgency to bypass your judgment.
Train employees to recognize smishing red flags. Implement mobile device management to block malicious URLs. Use credential monitoring to detect when stolen credentials appear on dark web markets. In the US, UK, and Canada, forward smishing texts to 7726 (SPAM) to report them to carriers.