Since scammers tend to pattern new scams as variations of existing ones, these fraudulent activities tend receive similar names as well. By now most of us are familiar with phishing scams, and yesterday I introduced vishing scams to those who were not already familiar with them. Now, the next "offspring" of the phishing scam is called smishing (I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the term myself). This particular scam involve text messaging on cell phones. The fraudsters send text messages to cell phone users asking them to verify personal information or to sign up for a service with their cell phones (by the way, these so-called services contain viruses).
With increased technology comes not only increased convenience but also responsibility to educate ourselves in the realm of security. Identity theft is growing, and the methods used to commit identity theft increase as technology makes it easier. By all means, use the technology at your disposal, but do so with caution.
If you think you might be a victim of smishing (or vishing for that matter), do not hesitate to report it.
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