Smishing

• What is it? Phishing attempts via text message with the objective of deceiving the victim by persuading them to provide personal information (e.g. access codes) via what looks like a legitimate text message (attributable to an entity or party held to be reliable).
• How can I recognize it? 
  • Inappropriate style: the message contains expressions or words that are inappropriate to the sender, including of an intimidatory nature.
  • Urgency: the text message invites the recipient to perform an action, such as to confirm their identity, with the utmost urgency, often citing administrative or legal reasons with an imminent deadline.
  • Grammatical errors: the content of the text messages contain typos, errors of spelling, or inaccurate punctuation.
  • False links: the text message contains links to websites where the actual destination does not match the name of the link. 
• What should I do?
  • Beware of any request to provide sensitive data urgently, whether credentials for accessing home banking, device codes, account or card data.
  • Don’t click on any links in the text message that look suspicious, as these might lead to fake websites.