🚨 Smishing: The Text Threat Telcos Must Tackle Now

What Is It?  Smishing is SMS-based phishing, where fraudsters or scammers send texts that impersonate banks, brands, or even friends to steal data, install malware, or collect cash from potential victims.  Many people underestimate smishing, dismissing it as “just spam” or something they’d never fall for. In reality, its scale, sophistication, and impact make it one of the fastest-growing digital threats today. Here's how:

• Since 2022, smishing has gone up 1,265%.

• Attacks are rampant! Smishing is going up by +318% year after year.

• According to the FTC, US$330M was lost to fraudulent texts in 2022.

• 74% of enterprises and organisations reported smishing.

• Several businesses lost significant amounts of money. For example, Singapore Bank OCBC reimbursed S$13.7M to victims of smishing and had to invest an additional  S$330M in capital after a smishing wave.

• 61% of enterprises call mobile-fraud costs “significant,” and this segment drives roughly one-third of a >$1T CSP market.

• 51% of enterprises expect CSPs to protect voice/SMS; only 24% invest in their own mobile-fraud tools.

• Only 59% have an SMS/multi-protocol firewall, whereas 51% a signalling firewall, and 54% lack threat-intel services/active monitoring.

• With ~98% open rates and high response, SMS remains incredibly persuasive which is exactly why criminals/fraudsters use it.

• Security-mature CSPs see fewer undetected breaches (12% vs 25%) and are more likely to monetise security (31% vs 19%).

⚡ How does smishing work?

• Copycat promos: “You’ve won!” messages that harvest card details.

• Malware links: One tap installs spyware.

Fake landing pages: Realistic banking/courier sites that steal credentials.

⚠️ Why users get hooked: urgency (“act now”), topical events (elections, disasters, crypto), and social engineering (name-drops from scraped social media). 🔍 Common lures: (recognise these!)

• “You won a $1,000 gift card—claim here.”

• “Delivery issue—pay £2.99 to release your parcel.”

• “Unusual activity on your account—verify now.”

• “A friend shared a photo—check this.”

• “Donate to [disaster]—tap to help.”

• “Make payment of [insert amount] to avoid additional charges”

📈 Why smishing is rising

• Trust factor: People still treat texts as personal and urgent.

• Email fatigue: Inboxes are saturated; SMS gets attention.

• Encrypted OTT shift: WhatsApp/RCS hide content—telcos lose visibility, scammers gain cover.

⚖️ Regulators are moving:

• 🇵🇱 Poland (CAECA, 2023): Block smishing texts; block texts posing as public institutions (by sender name); block calls that conceal caller ID; fines up to 3% of prior-year revenue for non-compliance.

• 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (Telecoms Fraud Sector Charter): Share suspected smishing URLs/numbers with NCSC/NFIB; restrict access to URLs confirmed by NCSC; act under legal/data-protection obligations.

• 🇦🇺 Australia (NAB + telcos): Do-Not-Originate lists for bank numbers; protections to stop scam texts appearing inside legitimate bank threads.

🛠️ What Needs to Happen?

🛡️ Block — AI SMS Firewall

• Inspect every SMS in real time, matching sender IDs, numbers, and URLs against continuously updated threat intelligence to stop smishing before delivery.

• Apply machine-learning rules to catch patterns simple filters miss (odd traffic bursts, spoofed IDs, SIM-box fingerprints) while minimizing false positives for legitimate campaigns.

• Trigger automated playbooks on detection—throttle or block the flow, alert the affected enterprise, and update rules without downtime to contain incidents fast.

📊 Detect — Anomaly & SIM Integrity

• Monitor for anomalies such as OTP spikes, unusual send velocity, late-night bursts on low-value routes, and device behaviours that indicate SIM-box activity.

• Use MSISDN reputation to flag numbers not tied to real subscribers or recently recycled, reducing fake account creation and recycled-number abuse.

• Auto-quarantine suspicious flows for rapid review and routing, so finance isn’t paying for traffic you never wanted.

⚖️ Govern — Collaborate & Comply

• Feed and consume national fraud intel (e.g., share suspected URLs and numbers with the appropriate bodies) so confirmed threats are blocked across networks, not just yours.

• Honor Do-Not-Originate lists for banks/brands and enforce CAECA-style controls: block smishing texts, block messages spoofing public institutions by sender name, and block calls that conceal caller ID.

• Maintain auditable logs and a clear disputes workflow, enabling fast, defensible takedowns and proving compliance to enterprises and regulators.

💡 Takeaways for MNO leaders:

• This is a revenue problem, not just security. Every blocked smish is revenue protected and dispute avoided.

• Liability is shifting to operators. Compliance matters! And so does evidence that you’re proactive.

• The right stack pays for itself. Block, detect, govern—repeat.

Want to keep smishing out and revenue in?

NexumTech helps MNOs deploy AI-native firewalls, anomaly detection, and governance workflows that protect subscribers and margins. Let’s talk!