Smishing is a form of phishing attack delivered through SMS text messages. Attackers send fraudulent texts that impersonate banks, delivery services, employers, or other trusted entities to trick recipients into clicking malicious links, providing credentials, or downloading malware..
What is Smishing?
Smishing is a form of phishing attack delivered through SMS text messages. Attackers send fraudulent texts that impersonate banks, delivery services, employers, or other trusted entities to trick recipients into clicking malicious links, providing credentials, or downloading malware.
How Smishing Works
Smishing exploits the trust people place in text messages - SMS open rates exceed 98%, compared to roughly 20% for email. Attackers send short, urgent messages that mimic common notifications: package delivery alerts, account security warnings, two-factor authentication codes, or IT requests. The message includes a link to a credential harvesting site or triggers a malware download. Because mobile screens are small and URLs are harder to inspect, smishing is harder to detect than email phishing.
Why Smishing Matters
Mobile devices are increasingly the primary work device for employees, especially in distributed and remote workforces. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 75% of employees will use technology outside of IT's visibility. Smishing bypasses email security filters entirely - there is no corporate spam filter for personal text messages. The FBI reported SMS-based fraud losses exceeding $330 million in 2023.
How to Protect Against Smishing
- Include SMS attack simulations in your security testing program
- Train employees to never click links in unexpected text messages
- Implement mobile device management (MDM) with URL filtering
- Monitor for employee phone numbers appearing in breach data
- Establish a clear reporting process for suspicious texts
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is smishing more effective than email phishing?
SMS messages have 98% open rates compared to roughly 20% for email. Mobile screens make URLs harder to inspect, and there's no corporate spam filter for personal text messages.
What are common pretexts used in smishing attacks?
Attackers typically impersonate delivery services, banks, employers, or government agencies with urgent messages about package delivery, account security warnings, or two-factor authentication codes.
How much fraud has been attributed to SMS attacks?
The FBI reported SMS-based fraud losses exceeding $330 million in 2023, and the problem continues to grow as mobile becomes the primary work device.
Can MDM tools protect against smishing?
Mobile device management with URL filtering can help, but the most effective defense is employee training combined with clear reporting processes for suspicious text messages.