Do you receive text messages over phone that sound like your bank account is not secure? And do you notice it accompanied by a link or a phone number? Then, you should clearly not pay attention to such messages. It could be one means of trapping you into scam. Cyber fraudsters are now leaning onto text message hacking.
“Smishing” or SMS phishing is a security attack used by scammers. It tricks you to download malware, Trojan or any virus into your cell phones. The easiest scheme they use for such practices is by sending you a text message.
Hacking over mail or social media is a common practice. But scammers have sensed that you use your phone for most of your daily activities. It includes banking, sharing, messaging, photo shooting, calls etc. So, it is clear that you carry your phone almost everywhere you go.
While password cracking may take some time, sending a fraudulent message is quite simple. They just target your weak points.
You might be busy with your family over dinner, or getting late for office in the morning. The message arrives at just that moment. You get so anxious about the safety of your bank account that you do not check the details of the sender. Without thinking twice, you click on the link you received. You might even send a reply on the given phone number.
That is it. Now, you become an open target for hackers. What more do they need. You have given them complete access to your phone with your one wrong move.
The scammers can now take advantage of your chicken heartedness. They can take away your credit card details, contact lists, security numbers, passwords. They might even hack your social media or emails if you keep yourself signed in through your phone.
Senior Director of Cyber security and investigations at Kroll, Pierson Clair specifies how an unassuming text message can steal all your information. “It may say something like, $500 was just withdrawn from your bank account, did you do it? If not, call this phone number. There are millions of these text messages sent out every single day targeting everybody from small children to grandmothers and everybody in between.”
According to 2016 FBI reports, Americans have lost over $ 1.6 million through cyber-crimes.
You cannot however stop the messages you receive over text. Changing your phone numbers daily is not an option at all. All you can do is be alert, whatever the situation may be. You should tackle everything in a relaxed state.
A hint that some phone hackers drop is the unusual 9-digit number instead of the 10. If you observe any message with a 9-digit figure, ignore it simply. Delete the message as soon as possible. But please do not respond. Neither by clicking on the link nor sending a text reply. Your safe account may fall into unsafe hands if you do so.
Never share your Card number, CVV, PIN, OTP, expiry date, password etc. with anyone. They can be misused. Even the bank never asks you for such disclosures.
Always rely on your secure bank messages. Legitimate bankers never ask you for your pin or passwords. In a scurry if you reveal these details, the attacker might use it for the best of his gain.
