Introduction
In layman’s language, an SMS is referred to as a system for sending short text messages, from one cell phone to another or from a computer to a cell phone.
Short Message Service – commonly said as SMS or text message came into existence on 3rd December 1992 when a message of “Merry Christmas" was sent to the phone of colleague Richard Jarvis by a test engineer for Sema Group named Neil Papworth through his personal computer.
Text messages, being a service component of most telephone, Internet, and mobile service systems, are used for sending short messages of up to 160 characters (224-character limit while using a 5-bit mode) to mobile devices which include cellular phones and smartphones. Text messages use standardized communication protocols.
SMS messages are transmitted through mobile data or digitally in many other ways over cellular networks -- starting with 2G -to anyone with roaming service capabilities like,
• through a Wi-Fi-enabled device to another
• from web-based applications in a web browser
• from clients’ instant messaging
• from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications e.g., Skype; and
• from some Unified communications applications.
The SMS technology originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo Pagers that used standardized phone protocols which were defined in 1986 as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).
SMS commercially became largely popular worldwide as a method of text communication through many cellular networks. With an estimated 3.5 billion active users which is about 80% of all mobile phone subscribers, SMS became the most widely used data application by the 2010 year-end.
The global SMS messaging business commonly known as mobile marketing a type of direct marketing, accounting for almost half of all revenue generated by mobile messaging.
What do we understand by SMS fraud?
The act of committing text message or SMS fraud is called Smishing, or SMS phishing. Cybercriminals use smishing, to steal credit card details, account details, or other sensitive information by sending a text message which might contain a link or installing malware to an organization or reputable person.
In smishing, a text message is sent and tries to get potential victims who can give out their personal information. This message generally, contains a link to a fake website that looks identical to the legitimate site asking the personal information to be entered by the recipient. Fake information is often used to make the texts appear to be from a genuine organization.
With the wide use of smartphones, this activity has grown in popularity in cybercrime as this enables them to steal sensitive financial and personal information without having to break through the firewall security defenses of a computer or network.
How do I report suspicious SMS?
As we know, scam text messages are sent with the purpose of stealing passwords or other personal information generally with a click on a link, which lands on a website that the cybercriminals use to download viruses to your computer. This is sometimes known as 'phishing'.
Whenever we receive a suspicious message or text, we should take a minute and report this issue which will help in the following ways:
• reduction in the number of scam texts received
• be aware of the fraud types happening and thus becoming a harder target for scammers
• spread awareness about cybercrimes and protect others from the following prey.
• Whatever personal information we post on our social media accounts regarding ourselves in form of words or pictures is used by criminals to make their phishing messages more convincing after reviewing our privacy settings. Therefore, we should be careful in updating our personal information and other details also as this can help us reduce the likelihood of being phished.
In today’s financial world, where digitalization has taken almost all transactions online by using our mobile, we need to be alarmed from staying away from anything that we do not fully understand. People who ignore such warnings tend to lose money as they easily fall prey to fraudsters who are busy fooling and defrauding people. There are two ways by which fraudsters loot our hard-earned money:
1) Payment Link Scam
2) Auto-installing Mobile Malware through links and SMS Fraud forwarding apps.
In both ways of scams, the fraudster’s contact pretending to be someone else may be a bank official or customer-care executive from a service provider. Fraudsters may contact by text message, social media, or phone call and ask the victims to confirm details by opening an internet link or responding with personal information.
What should I do if I get scammed via text message?
Whenever we receive an unwanted text message, we should report this. This can be done in three ways:
1) Copy the message and send it to 7726 (SPAM) which will help your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
2) Report it on the messaging app you use. Look for the option to report junk or spam in the messaging app.
3) Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
What is Premium SMS Fraud?
Smartphones are being used for a new scam by which high-priced premium SMS text messages are being sent which involves secretly infecting them with malware where victims are unaware of the fact that their phone is sending the messages. This ends up with inflated charges on their phone bills, which go straight into the pockets of the scammers, and if the bills have not been checked carefully and this has not been spotted it may even continue for months. This premium SMS service is often hidden inside an app the user might have downloaded onto their device and it may include a monthly charge also.
According to commercial security consultants Blue Coat which stated in their 2014 Mobile Malware Report that premium SMS apps have quickly become the most popular piece of malware on devices that use the Android operating system. The exploitation of phone billing service referred to as SMS fraud is called mobile premium service (SMS premium rate).
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