American consumers and agencies were exposed to a wide range of phishing threats over the course 2019—but in 2020, there’ll be a new, related danger on the horizon: smishing, or text-based phishing.
According to consumer credit reporting company Experian’s 2020 data breach industry forecast, smishing is the top threat individuals will likely be targeted by in the coming year, followed by drones that steal consumer data, disruptive deepfakes, hacktivism, and identity theft through mobile payment systems.
“Cybercriminals will leverage text-based ‘smishing’ identity theft techniques to target consumers participating in online communities, such as those supporting presidential candidates, with fraudulent messages disguised as fundraising initiatives,” officials wrote in the report.
As bad actors become more sophisticated in their attempts to spoof or manipulate Americans for money or information, smishing efforts—a portmanteau of “SMS" and "phishing"—are expected to be on the rise. Experian notes that hackers and other cybercriminals will likely capitalize on the fact that it’s an election year and try to trick voting communities through spoofed texts to garner financial support.
“As candidates build out online communities, a campaign page can be easily spoofed – soliciting donations via a fake email, and a smishing text message designed to look like it comes from a fellow campaign supporter can gain trust even faster,” the company notes.
Much like traditional phishing scams, smishing may include misspelled words, poor grammar and unnecessary requests for users to share their personal information like credit card or social security numbers. Experian notes it’s generally best not to respond from ..
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