Don’t Become a Target of Promotional SMS Phishing Scams

Promotional SMSs are quite common these days due to the surge in mobile marketing. It may be from any shoe store, apparel or any fitness club that may be known to you. However, many SMSs come from unknown sources that we have never heard of before. When we receive SMS from unknown sources, we are not certain if the sender is a genuine person or a scammer.

Cybercrooks send SMSs with links to click on which may be very tempting and one may not stop himself from clicking on the provided link. This is known as phishing attacks. Some examples of these fake promotional SMS phishing scams are like:

“Win a Free mobile by clicking on the link below” or “Win Free tickets to Europe, click here”

Clicking on these links, one may unknowingly install malware on his/her phone, which may cause serious harm to the mobile user. Attacked by malware, you can expect a sudden rise in your phone bill or your mobile banking to get compromised. Other effects may include extremely slow mobile OS and not responding at times.

Not only through SMS, fake messages can be also sent by scammers via popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp or We Chat. Therefore, a mobile phone user who uses the internet needs to be extra cautious.

Some Smart Tips for phishing attack prevention:

• Do not share your mobile number with websites which you are not familiar with. Read the privacy policy of the website before sharing your mobile number.
• Never click on links received via SMS or WhatsApp messages. Instead, search the name of the sender/company in Google to get correct info.
• Beware of SMSs promising rewards or easy income. Remember, nothing comes free of cost and these SMSs may be a trick of hackers to pull out your personal details.
• Use a Mobile Security Software, which will block malware and will keep a check on fake apps.
• Block mobile numbers immediately from where frequent promotional SMSs are sent. This way it will prevent you from accidentally clicking on the links.

With all these safety tips, we expect you to remain safe from promotional SMS phishing scams.