Smishing
Categories: Ethics/Morals, Marketing
Our buddy Cole is a pretty smart guy. That’s why, when he got a random text telling him he’d won a trip for two to Jamaica and all he had to do was click on a link, he wasn’t buying it for a second.
“It’s smishing,” he told us when he showed us the text. “It’s what?” we replied, thinking a trip to Jamaica sounds pretty good right about now. Then Cole explains to us that “smishing,” a combination of “SMS” and “phishing,” is when dodgy companies send out scammy text messages to random people in an effort to get them to share their personal info. Sometimes they use the promise of wondrous prizes, like with Cole and his trip to Jamaica. Sometimes they use threats, like sending a text saying someone’s going to get fined $1,000 if they don’t go to some website and verify their info.
It’s like identity theft clickbait in text message form.
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Finance: What are Phishing Scams?8 Views
Finance a la shmoop what are phishing scams? all right you know when you're out [Woman on fishing boat with Dad]
on the lake with dad just the two of you trying to haul in some trout when one of
the fish pulls a fast one on you and hangs one of these things on your line [Fishing line with boot attached]
yeah total scam we're telling you you cannot trust anything that breathes
through the side of its face anymore these days really okay so that's a not
quite a phishing scam although the general idea is similar it's someone
trying to make you believe something that isn't exactly true with a phishing
scam the venue switches from the great outdoors to cyberspace never gotten an [A wooden hut appears]
email from a Nigerian prince who's temporarily down on his luck and if
you'll just wire him three hundred bucks in cash immediately well immeasurable
riches await you it sounds like a little good to be true there right yeah and it [Man gives thumbs up in room]
is well usually that Nigerian prince is an overweight balding guy named Jerry
living in his mom's basement in a suburb just outside of Cleveland he'd love
nothing more than to hook a sucker you and take that 300 bucks [Jerry on his computer]
off your hands but many times the scam is much more intricate than that often
its identity thieves who are trying to con you into releasing private
information such as your social security number or credit card information mm-hmm
that's out there well they might try to convince you that
their Amazon support or your bank or your long-lost uncle Yusuf who just [Person flicking through e-mails]
needs a few personal details before he can FedEx you your large inheritance
don't fall for any of it anytime you're randomly asked to divulge any sensitive
information or pop a wad of cash in an envelope stop for a second and ask
yourself whatever you might be well a fish and then ask yourself whether you'd [Cash burning]
like all your hard-earned money to be sauteed or flame-broiled good stuff...