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What's the Matter? Didn't you have anyone in pink pumps fix your computer before?

Friday, June 18, 2010

Are You Being Smished?

I'm not, but I don't have a popular cellular provider. You probably are. Smishing=phishing attack to your cell phone via SMS. Most people nowadays know not to put "Mom", "Dad", "Home" in their cell phones in cast they are lost or stolen. Instead use Mom's last name and first initial. If you put "Hubby," a thief can text a message asking for his pin number because he "forgot" it.

However, much of your personal information is available for theft. Some folks have their cell phone numbers on their websites; those folks need to be especially carefull. If your cell phone is unpublished, it's still out there. You've given your cell phone number to doctors, car repair centers, 411, friends and family. Perhaps it's on a utility bill or an order form. Random phone number generators are available too. Once they hit upon a working number, it's a target for smishing. Don't use SMS to give personal information unless requested to do so by voice first.

Overall smishing attacks have gone down this year because of the arrest of the world's largest cyber criminal gang. Other gangs have increased their efforts. If you get a pop-up on your phone asking to verify your password, phone your cellular provider and ask if it's a valid request from them.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Janet

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