How I Can Easily Spot Smishing Texts (And You Can Too)

Smishing is just as dangerous as phishing emails, so you need to be on high alert for them. To reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim, I note certain signs that they are not legitimate.

What is Smishing?

Smishing is when someone sends you a phishing scam via SMS. Many of the most common phishing attacks also take place via smishing. For example, I receive countless scam messages from people pretending to be the postal service.

Smishing is different from vishing because it is entirely text-based, not through voice calls or messages. “Hey mom!” fraud is another example of an attempt to break.

How do I recognize smishing texts?

Smishing texts annoy me even more than phishing; unlike phishing, these kinds of text don’t end up in the spam folder. As a result, I have gone to great lengths to identify and avoid these scammers.

Here are some of the easiest ways to spot a laugh text.

Phone numbers without organization name

Remember earlier when I said I was getting a lot of scam emails from the postal service? The good news is that they are often very easy to spot. Start by checking to see if there is a phone number or organization name.

If you see a phone number, you can almost guarantee that someone is trying to scam you. Official services usually include their name. Smishing lyrics, on the other hand, usually don’t.

However, sometimes you can see laughing texts with the name of the organization. Therefore, you should not click on any links until you have verified further.

Short links

Short links are when a URL has been shortened and primarily used so that the link takes up less space. Unfortunately, some criminals have taken advantage of its usefulness and tried to disguise malicious links. Other times it will be something completely unrelated.

When an official organization sends you an SMS, you can still see the shortened link. However, the link usually contains something that can be traced back to the company (for example, you may see some letters from the company name). This is not always the case with ridiculous emails.

You still have to be careful here because the scams are getting more and more sophisticated. However, short links and no official name are two pretty sure red flags. In addition to smishing, you will also see short links used in scams on X (Twitter) and other social media platforms.

How long after the action is performed will I receive a message

I often get fake shipping messages after I’ve purchased something, but people also try to scam me when I buy a software subscription. Interestingly, the timelines are different for both.

When I buy an item, I often get funny texts around the same time I get the order confirmation. Since many postal companies have mobile apps, I recommend downloading the app associated with your local service; there you can track your order more securely.

On the other hand, I get ridiculous texts for software subscriptions a few months after signing up. Normally this will be something along the lines of my card expiring, and again it’s pretty easy to ignore. If in doubt, contact the service you subscribed to and check your statement.

Incorrect grammar and spelling

Bad spelling and grammar are some of the easiest ways to spot email phishing scams, and many smishing texts have it too. I noticed this in English, but now that I live abroad and speak the local language better, I can identify grammatical errors in fraudulent texts that happen here too.

Common problems to look out for include double spacing between words and spacing between words and paragraphs. Bad spelling and illogical sentence structures are also clear signs that someone may be trying to scam you.

With the advent of generative AI, you’ll need to be more vigilant when smishing. But for now, at least you can easily spot ridiculous texts by critically assessing their grammar.

Being too polite

Maybe it’s their guilty conscience, but scammers often try to flatter you by being overly polite. Smishing is no different in this regard; if someone is too nice and you don’t know them, alarm bells should start ringing in your head.

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I’ve noticed that a lot of phishing scams include terms like “Sir” and they may also ask how you are doing. These seem like nice gestures, but they are a form of manipulation and you should be very careful.

Most people write more briefly through text; a friend might ask how you are, but an organization almost certainly won’t. Keeping this in mind is one of the many effective ways to prevent yourself from becoming the next victim of a scam.

Be able to respond

I have an iPhone and one feature that automatically made laugh texts visible was that you can’t always reply to official messages. You’ll often see a text conversation, but without a text field. Sometimes the sender may also list something that says, “This message cannot be replied to.”

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Since Apple introduced this feature, I can’t think of a single company that has contacted me to answer. So if I see that I can reply to something that is supposed to be an official text, the thread is now deleted without a second thought.

I recommend blocking the number before deleting the conversation. Sadly, iOS doesn’t have a ‘Scam Likely’ feature like there is for vishing – but hopefully we’ll see that sooner rather than later. Android devices already have a similar feature for text messages.

Trying to start a conversation

I have recorded break-in attempts where the criminal tried to start a conversation with me. I’m smarter now and won’t answer texts or calls that aren’t from people I know, but in the past I’ve taken the initial bait. However, I soon realized that the other person did not have good intentions.

Some conversations can be very specific, like knowing the country you live in. The easiest thing to do here is to not reply to anyone you don’t know. Someone may try to contact you repeatedly; if so, block the number.

Smishing texts are sometimes very persuasive, but with a little due diligence you can often squeeze them out before any damage is done. Always question the legitimacy of texts you receive, and frankly, you should also make sure you trust any friend or family member who asks for money. Adopting a zero trust policy will save you a lot of pain.