Outsmart Scammers: Don’t Be A Victim Of Smishing

We’ve all received unwanted spam messages sent to our email inboxes. And now with more of us sending text messages, checking email and accessing the internet through our phones, we are opening ourselves up for a new area of vulnerability. Experts estimate that this year as many as 1.5 billion spam messages will be sent out to mobile devices.

In 2003, Congress passed the CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography) Act in order to help stop spam. However, there are some loopholes in the Act that may still leave you and your phone vulnerable to spammers.

Smishing is a variation on phishing scams that involves text messages sent to your cellphone. Potential victims may receive a text message from a bank requiring the customer to provide personal information like pin-numbers, account numbers or passwords, in order to verify ownership.

Another common message warns that you have signed up for a dating service, and that you need to respond to confirm or decline via a web address. Accessing this address results in a download of malicious software designed to steal your personal information.

Fortunately, the FCC offers are a few tips for steps you can take to help prevent spam on your mobile device and in general:

• Place your wireless number on the National Do Not Call Registry. You can register your number for free and it will stay on this list for five years.
• Avoid displaying your cell phone number in a public place online, such as websites or chatrooms.
• Contact your service provider right away about unwanted messages. If you let your cell phone carrier know early on, it may be easier to reverse charges for a handful of unwanted messages instead of waiting for them to accumulate.
• Check the privacy policy of a website before submitting your phone number or email address. Consider setting up an email address specifically for these sites that require you to create accounts.

Check out the FCC’s site for more information on the CAN-SPAM Act, and what you can do to help reduce the amount of spam that might be targeting your phone.