Have you ever received a text message or voicemail on your cell phone explaining that there is an issue with your bank account information? Has the message asked you to provide a debit card number or PIN by responding directly or logging in to a website?

The text you received could very well have been a scam called smishing, where criminals attempt to collect personal financial information via SMS texts to cell phones. And that voicemail is referred to as vishing. In this type of scam, criminals set up fraudulent recorded messages asking victims to respond or reply by sharing sensitive information.

With the extensive use of mobile phone banking and online transactions, it is important to be aware of these kinds of attacks. It’s especially important not to go to any websites linked to from these messages, as you may download malicious software, giving a criminal access to your entire phone.

Recent smishing and vishing attempts

One recent smishing scam asked recipients to call the phone number provided because there was a problem with the recipients’ credit union accounts. Within 10 minutes after the account holders called the number and provided their personal information, the criminals withdrew money from the victims’ bank accounts. Read more about smishing scams.

Another scam involved a text message stating that the recipient could “claim a Wal-Mart Gift Card” by entering all of his or her personal information. In this case, the recipient was told to submit information on a fake mobile website, walmartfigt.mobi, which was in no way associated with Wal-Mart. Best Buy has been affected by a similar scam. Read more about the Wal-Mart scam.

If you receive one of these text messages, please do not open it and delete it immediately. If you do open it, do not submit any personal information.

Protecting yourself
The FBI has offered the following tips to guard against smishing and vishing attacks:

1.  As noted above, don’t click on any link or attachment within the text message.

2.  Do not respond to text messages or automated voice messages from unknown or blocked numbers on your mobile phone.

3.  Don’t download anything unless you trust the source.

4.  Use a credit card when purchasing online. Charges can be disputed if you don’t receive what you order or if you discover unauthorized charges on your card.

5.  Check a seller’s ratings and feedback, and the dates they were posted. Be wary of a seller with a 100-percent positive feedback score, a low number of feedback postings, or with all feedback posted around the same time.

6.  Never respond to suspicious, unsolicited e-mails, texts, phone calls, or voicemails that request personal information. If you are unsure of the validity of the message or call, go to the company’s website directly.

7.  Do not click on any URL in a message you receive. Google the company itself and go directly to it website.

Rest assured that we are always concerned about information security. If you have any questions, please contact us at (906) 228-3696

Sincerely,

Rich Tegge, President