Smishing: What It Is and How to Protect Your Company Against This Scam

In recent times, we have seen an increase in a quiet but highly effective type of fraud: smishing. The term may sound technical, but the concept is simple—messages that try to deceive recipients into revealing confidential information.

O Smishing É uma Ameaça Real?

Smishing takes advantage of people’s trust in authoritative entities or even legitimate communication channels to launch attacks. Who hasn’t received a message that seemed urgent, supposedly from a trusted institution, and almost clicked without a second thought? That’s the trick: urgent messages prompting immediate action!

Strongstep's Opinion: "We believe that a cybersecurity culture starts with awareness. We know these are sensitive topics, but informing and empowering people about threats like smishing is one of the most effective steps to prevent future issues."

How to Identify and Avoid Smishing?

Here are some tips for you and your team:

• Request for personal information: Trusted entities rarely request your information via SMS or a simple email without a prior exchange of credible information.
• Suspicious links: If there’s a link in the message, hover over it (or press and hold on your mobile) to view the URL. Avoid clicking on links that look unfamiliar or aren’t clearly from the mentioned company.
• Sense of urgency: Messages that demand immediate action (“Your account will be locked!”) are often fraudulent. Check directly with the company instead of replying or clicking the link.
• Hidden or unfamiliar phone numbers: In some cases, attackers mask the number to make it look authentic, but this can be a sign of fraud.

If You Receive a Suspicious Message

To report any smishing attempt, contact:

National Cybersecurity Center Portugal – https://www.cncs.gov.pt cncs@cncs.gov.pt

Security Is Not Just Technology, But Awareness

For us, digital security is more than a set of protocols — it’s a responsibility for every user. We remain committed to providing relevant information so our partners and clients can act safely in the digital environment.