Android users have to be particularly careful with a scam that has been around for months. Telekom and Vodafone report that so-called “smishing” is still up to mischief in Europe – in some cases more dangerous than ever.
Fraud SMS with the “smishing” scam remain a serious problem. Deutsche Telekom informed around 30,000 customers last year that their devices were affected by smishing attacks, as the Bonn-based group announced on request. The customer devices would have sent thousands of SMS and thus further distributed malware in a snowball system. “All in all, their smartphones have sent almost 100 million smishing text messages – over our network alone,” said a company spokesman.
According to the company, Vodafone affected an almost five-digit number of customers in Germany in the second half of 2021. Telefónica (o2) did not provide any figures.
With “smishing” – a neologism of SMS and phishing – you get an SMS with a link. It is pointed out, for example, to an alleged package that is coming soon.
Danger for Android users: “Smishing” is still on the rise
Android users have been wary of smishing attacks for months.
If you click on the link in the text message, you will be directed to dubious websites where you are supposed to download apps – often for the alleged package tracking. In fact, however, it is malware that triggers the SMS mass sending to all contacts and other numbers stored in the cell phone. This is only possible with mobile phones with the Android operating system; software downloads from unknown sources do not work with Apple.
In another scam, an alleged sweepstakes success is reported – only the entry of personal data is still missing to win. Anyone who falls for it will by no means become a winner – instead, their data will be used for criminal purposes. Scammers often target bank details.
As reported from the telecommunications industry, SMS messages are particularly common at the moment, in which the recipient is referred to a video on which he can be seen. This should make you curious and careless. This is also a scam to smuggle malware onto the smartphone or to siphon data