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Threat Intelligence

News


HOLIDAY SCAMS DRIVE SMS PHISHING ATTACKS

Attackers typically target consumers with malicious text messages containing
obfuscated links, but experts say businesses are threatened as well.
Robert Lemos
Contributing Writer
November 23, 2021
Some phishing scams lead to realistic, yet fake, notices.
Source: Proofpoint
PDF


As the holidays approach, the volume of short message service (SMS) phishing has
almost doubled from the same period in the prior year, continuing a trend of
SMS-text phishing growing as a vector to attack mobile users and their devices,
messaging-security firm Proofpoint stated in a blog post on Nov. 23. 



In the first half of 2021, global reports climbed by 270% compared to the same
period in 2020. While the recent surge is almost entirely aimed at consumers,
those attacks can easily cross over to business systems, especially as many
employees are working remotely and from their own devices, according to
Proofpoint. 

SMS phishing is also only the initial attack vector. Many attackers install
malware on target devices after a successful compromise, says Jacinta Tobin,
global vice president of Cloudmark operations at Proofpoint.



"Smishing attacks are becoming more sophisticated and there are other attacks
using malware which can control significant device functionality," she says.
"These sophisticated smishing and malware attacks pose serious risks to mobile
users and opens the door to enterprise-type attacks."



The end of the year has become an annual focus of attackers aiming to profit in
some way from the massive economic activity that accompanies the holiday season.
In the past, the most common tactics included unsolicited email messages or
advertising fraud.

Use of text messages as a phishing vector has become more popular because it is
effective. Text messages have a 98% open rate, and 90% of messages are opened in
the first three minutes, according to Proofpoint. Further, the success rate — as
measured by the proportion of users that click through to an attacker's page —
is eight times that of email phishing.

Attackers are also using databases of stolen or purchased subscriber information
to personalize text messages, adding first names and other details to make the
text more convincing, Tobin says.

"Historically, spelling mistakes and suspect websites were tell-tale signs of a
scam," she says. "Attackers are now increasingly more sophisticated and use
social engineering techniques to trick."



On the consumer side, SMS scams are financially motivated and aim to collect
either credentials or credit card account information. Most involve a fake
package delivery notification, ask for a credit card to claim the delivery, or
send victims to a website where they can collect their credentials. Attackers
also occasionally offer discounted or free products, if the victim fills out a
survey, and request credit card information at the end of the process.

"Holiday scams and smishing are really about getting money," Tobin says. "There
is a considerable market for credential information on the Dark Web and
fundamentally the attackers are driven by financial motives."

Consumers should look out for suspicious messages that may describe packages
they did not order or transactions they never conducted, she says. Mobile users
should always avoid downloading and installing software that they did not
specifically request.

Businesses should worry as well. More than 60% of companies around the world,
and 81% of US companies, have been attacked through smishing, Proofpoint says. A
third of companies have seen more than 10 smishing attacks in 2020, according to
the company's "2021 State of the Phish" report.

Further, consumer devices are often used for business reasons and may have
access to the corporate network, making attacks against mobile users
problematic. Any mobile device that is compromised could leak sensitive business
intelligence or allow access to the business' internal network.

While many significant steps to combat smishing remain outside most businesses'
purview, both security training and deployment of multifactor authentication can
reduce the threat that phishing attacks pose. Security training makes employees
more suspicious of messages coming through SMS channels, and multifactor
authentication prevents attackers from gaining access with a simple username and
password.

Industries can step up to help as well. Mobile network operators should
collaborate with government and industry groups to find ways to block massive
phishing campaigns, Tobin says. Mobile phone and device makers can improve user
interfaces to provide better signals of messages' legitimacy and ease the
reporting of text-message abuse, she says.

While holiday-themed smishing has surged, the increase in SMS attacks over the
past year is likely driven by the increase in COVID-themed SMS scams. Text
messages leading to fake pages purporting to be the Internal Revenue Service,
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or other government agencies has
become common.

"Scammers can use links in text messages to install malicious code on your phone
or launch a phony webpage to collect personal, health insurance, or financial
information for use in other scams," the US Federal Communications Commission
stated in an August advisory. "COVID-19 text message scams offer cures, warnings
about the need for a test, or 'special offers.'"

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