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How to Recognize and Avoid Smishing Attacks

Smishing is a sort of cyber attack that uses SMS messages to deceive people into disclosing sensitive information. This type of assault, abbreviated as "SMS phishing," is becoming an increasingly widespread hazard to organizations of all sizes. Employees must be able to recognize and report questionable communications before your data is compromised to successfully avoid smishing attacks.

Smishing Attacks: How They Work
Text messages that look to be from a trustworthy source, such as a bank, government agency, or merchant, are used in smishing attacks. In a company setting, the SMS may appear to have been sent by a member of your senior leadership team or a trusted external vendor. The communications are intended to seem real, making it harder for staff to recognize them.

A smishing message often instructs the receiver to click on a website link or contact a phone number to update their account information. If the receiver follows the instructions in the message, the attacker can exploit the information supplied to steal corporate data or deplete your funds.

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How to Recognize a Smishing Attack
Employees must be on high alert for unusual activities as smishing assaults get more sophisticated by the day. Make sure your team members are taught to recognize the following red flags.

1. Untrustworthy Sender
At first inspection, the contact information in many smishing messages will appear real. Encourage staff to confirm the sender's phone number and information before replying, particularly if the message purports to be from the CEO, senior management, or a vendor.
2. Immediacy
If the message demands urgent action and generates a sense of urgency, proceed with care. Smishing attacks are sometimes disguised as a last-minute request to update account information or payment details before a deadline.
3. Request for Sensitive Information
Smishing messages frequently request sensitive information, such as passwords, bank account numbers, or credit card information. Employees should be reminded that valid requests for this sort of information will never be issued through SMS and that such messages should be reported and disregarded.
4. Poor Grammar and Spelling
Poor language and spelling are prominent features of scam communications. Employees should also be on the watch for strange connections and suspicious formatting, such as goog.le.com vs. google.com.
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5. Ask to Click on the Link
Most phishing communications will instruct the receiver to click a link, which will either install malware on the device or redirect the employee to a phishing website. This may appear to be a legitimate bank website, but the accompanying forms are used to steal important information.
6. Ask to Call a Phone Number
To look more real than a link, a smishing message may instruct employees to contact a phone number. This, however, may link the employee to a fraudster. Encourage staff to only interact with known contacts using stored contact information.

Safeguard Your Company against Smishing Attacks
In addition to raising employee knowledge of smishing attacks, firms can adopt the following safeguards to limit the likelihood of a data breach.

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1. 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)
Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of security that requires employees to provide two forms of authentication to access their accounts. By making it more difficult for attackers to acquire sensitive information, this can help avoid smishing assaults.
2. Antivirus Software
Antivirus software can help defend your company against smishing attacks by identifying and deleting harmful software. To keep your data and business secure, install a reliable antivirus solution on corporate devices and maintain it up to date at all times.

Avoid Being a Victim of Smishing Attacks
Smishing attacks are becoming more common, and if successful, can have terrible results. To secure your company, educate your staff about the hazards and put in place strong security measures. Most essential, when you receive an unclear message, do not interact with it and immediately report it to your IT or security team. If your company needs an alternative to SMS authentication to keep your data and users secure as well as avoid smishing attacks, ACM can offer a more secure 2FA authentication method for you. Please contact us via the hotline at 6295 5962 or email info@achievement.com.sg for further information about smishing attacks.