My phone goes off.
A text from a number I don’t recognize:
“I’ll be late for lunch.”
I pause.
Do I respond? Who is this?
Maybe it’s a coworker. A friend. A client.
But here’s the truth: It’s not.
It’s a bot.
A silent, relentless, data-harvesting machine, trying to figure out one thing:
Is there a human on the other end of this number?
And if you take the bait—if you so much as text back, “Who is this?”—
You just got played.
Smishing Is Exploding—Because It Works
We’ve all learned to be skeptical of email phishing.
We know to hover over links. We know that Nigerian princes aren’t real.
But SMS phishing? That’s a whole different beast.
It bypasses every security control your IT team has in place.
It doesn’t get filtered through email scanners, firewalls, or spam filters.
It goes straight to your personal device, the one you trust the most.
And hackers know you’ll drop your guard.
That’s why over 10,000 registered scam sites are actively stealing Apple Wallet credentials, credit card numbers, Social Security details, and business login information.
This isn’t theory.
This is happening. Right now. To businesses like yours.
How the Scam Works
Smishing attacks don’t start with “Click here to get scammed!”
They start small. They start with trust.
Like this:
“Hey, I’m going to be late for our meeting.”
“Your package is delayed—track it here.”
“HR needs you to verify your benefits before Friday.”
“New security update—login required immediately.”
You see the text. You react.
And that’s all they need.
The moment you respond or click, you’ve confirmed:
- The number is active.
- You read and engage with text messages.
- You might trust the next message even more.
Your number is now on a list.
A list that gets sold to other scammers, all using different tactics to pull you in deeper.
Smishing Tactics You Need to Watch For
- Fake Boss Requests “Hey, it’s [Your CEO’s Name]. I need you to process this invoice ASAP. Can you handle it?”
- Fake HR or Payroll Messages “Your direct deposit information needs to be updated—log in here to verify.”
- Delivery Scams “FedEx package delayed. Click here to reschedule your shipment.”
- Bank Fraud Alerts “Suspicious activity detected on your account. Click to confirm your identity.”
- Security Updates “We detected unusual login attempts on your Apple ID. Secure your account now.”
- Two-Factor Code Theft “Your verification code is 452981. If you didn’t request this, click here.”
- Compromised Contacts “Hey, is this still your number? Got a quick question for you.”
It doesn’t matter how sophisticated your IT team is.
Smishing goes straight to your phone, bypassing every business-grade security control you have in place.
You are the last line of defense.
How to Shut Smishing Down Before It Wrecks You
- Don’t respond to unknown numbers. Even a simple “Who is this?” confirms your number is real.
- Never click links in text messages. If it’s legit, go to the company’s official site yourself.
- Verify requests through another channel. If your “CEO” texts asking for a wire transfer, call them directly.
- Treat texts like emails—assume they’re a scam until proven otherwise. If it creates urgency, it’s probably fake.
- Enable message filtering. Both Apple and Android have built-in options to filter messages from unknown senders.
- Report smishing attempts. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) to report them.
Stop and Think Before You Respond
Hackers don’t need to breach your company’s firewall anymore.
They just need you to reply to a text.
Your IT team can’t stop this for you.
Your MSP can’t block it.
Your cyber insurance won’t cover you if you willingly hand over your credentials.
Only you can stop it.
So the next time your phone pings with a suspicious text, don’t react.
Stop.
Think.
And don’t let yourself get played.
