Frauds find fertile ground by sending cellphone texts

By Beau Monday

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 04, 2012

~~<p>By now everyone knows what a phishing email is — one that attempts to lure you to a fraudulent website under the pretense of winning a prize, or claims it can help fix a problem with your online account. But not all phishing attacks come via email. In fact, there has been a dramatic rise in what is being dubbed as "smishing," or using SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging features on a cellphone to deliver phishing-type messages.</p>
<p>For instance, my colleague recently received this textbook example of a smishing scam on her phone: "Your entry last month has WON! Go to TargetContests.com and enter your winning code 53882 to claim your FREE $1,000 Target gift card within 24hrs."</p>
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By now everyone knows what a phishing email is — one that attempts to lure you to a fraudulent website under the pretense of winning a prize, or claims it can help fix a problem with your online account. But not all phishing attacks come via email. In fact, there has been a dramatic rise in what is being dubbed as "smishing," or using SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging features on a cellphone to deliver phishing-type messages.

For instance, my colleague recently received this textbook example of a smishing scam on her phone: "Your entry last month has WON! Go to TargetContests.com and enter your winning code 53882 to claim your FREE $1,000 Target gift card within 24hrs." Login for more...