What the Heck Is Smishing?
Text-Based Scheme Tries to Sneak Malicious Links Onto Mobile Devices Cybersecurity experts are raising alarms about “smishing,” a unique form of phishing that attempts to deliver malicious links or infected applications to cell phones via text or SMS messages. The challenge with these types of cyberattacks is that a text or SMS message cannot be authenticated beyond the phone number it’s sent from. Hackers have started using illicit tools that allow them to send legitimate-looking SMS messages from spoofed or stolen telephone numbers. A recent text-based scheme targeting Android devices purports to be from a delivery company like UPS or FedEx. When unsuspecting users click the supposed package tracking link included in the message, it automatically installs a malicious application that can steal banking credentials and other personal information. Adding to the challenge is the fact that text messages aren’t nearly as easy to track and prevent as, say, malicious emails. URL (Uniform R