There’s been an increase in phishing attempts initiated via text or SMS messages, referred to as smishing. In the smishing scam, individuals receive fraudulent text or SMS messages that appear to be from a legitimate source such as your bank or other financial providers.

The fraudulent text attempts to lure individuals to provide their account credentials by indicating that an individual’s account or card has been blocked and includes a link to take action. The link directs to a fake website requesting they enter their account credentials, which fraudsters can then use to gain access to their funds.

Fraudsters are also getting very good at replicating the email format of financial providers to make you think that the email is really from your bank or brokerage firm when in fact it is not. Always be sure to check the actual “From” email address to see who is really sending the email.

Another best practice: instead of clicking on links in these emails, type the known institution’s website address into your browser and log into your accounts from the firm’s website and be sure you are accessing a secure website. Secure websites begin with “https,” not “http”.

Please be cautious when responding to texts or emails, and do not click on attachments and links unless you are absolutely sure it is safe to do so. If you have clicked on a fraudulent link and supplied any credentials, it is strongly recommended that you immediately change your login and password for your financial provider and email accounts and contact your financial provider and email service provider immediately.

We encourage all of our clients to contact us immediately at 775-850-5620 if you have any questions about these scams or if you think you have received one of these phishing messages.

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