Editorial: Stay informed on SMS scams

It could be a text from a co-worker, addressing you by name and asking for a favor: Could you please go pick up a gift card for them? They will pay you back. It is urgent, the unknown sender will tell you, using the name of a trusted friend, boss or co-worker. 

Using information online, “smishing” scams, a play on the acronyn SMS and the word “phishing”, can exploit existing workplace relationships and take advantage of the anonymity afforded by technology to potentially scam you out of hundreds of dollars. 

Scammers targeting workplace relationships attempt to take advantage of a person’s sense of occupational duty and responsibility to coerce them into making decisions they otherwise would have been skeptical of. For instance, an employee here at TBR News Media recently got a suspicious text, ostensibly from a coworker who works remotely. The text was urgent — the coworker was in a meeting and couldn’t talk on the phone, but needed, for some reason, a gift card.

This type of request is odd, but under the right circumstances, it is tempting to ignore the alarm bells ringing in our head and to simply comply. It is natural to want to be helpful, especially in work-matters and the texts, hectic, confusing and vague, puts pressure on the receiver to assent. 

This type of smishing scam preys especially on new employees—they are unfamiliar with the customs of the company and more likely to excuse bizarre behavior, they may be hesitant to turn down their boss or coworker as they want to make a good impression, and they don’t yet have the contact information of their coworkers, so the impersonation may not be detected immediately. 

The older generation, less versed in technology, may have a harder time discerning what is a “normal” text and what is abnormal. Younger generations that grew up with technology are more adjusted to its customs and still fall prey to scammers. Older generations are at a disadvantage, making them especially vulnerable. 

Luckily, there are a series of measures we can take to safeguard both our personal information and our finances. 

•Do not click on any unknown links you receive from an unknown sender. The link could be corrupt.

•Do not respond. 

•Verify the identity of the sender by contacting them in an alternate way. 

•Delete the texts. 

•Trust our instincts. If something seems strange, we should hold off on responding.