Fraud Awareness Week: Day Four – Fake SMS Links

Welcome to International Fraud Awareness Week: Day Four – Fake SMS Links

‘Smishing’ is the attempt by fraudsters to trick you into handing over personal information such as your Credit Union details, usernames, or passwords by clicking on a link they have sent you via SMS or WhatsApp or email.

They pretend to be from a trustworthy source such as your Credit Union and the information they gain can then be used to access your Current Account or Debit Cards or Online Banking account.

• The criminal typically sends thousands of generic SMS messages to people whose phone numbers have been obtained from an unknown source, in the hope of getting a ‘hit’.
• These SMS Messages tend to have generic greetings such as “Dear Customer” or “Account Holder”.
• In some cases, a tactic called “spear phishing” is used. In these cases, the fraudster has some details about you (frequently sourced through social media) and may use your name or some other specific detail about you in the email.

SMS KEY ADVICE: IFAW4: DON’T EVER respond to messages or urgent payment requests claiming to be from legitimate services like An Post, EFlow, DHL & Amazon. If in doubt, speak directly to the service provider to validate the request before taking any further action.

If you believe you have been victim as a result of clicking on a Fake Links responded to a message of this type, or if you have any concerns regarding your Current Account or Debit Card activity, contact Credit Union Card Services on +353(1)6933333.

For more information, please visit https://currentaccount.ie/support/card-safety-guidelines/