---
title: "What is Smishing and Why Organizations need to Keep Safe From This Phishing Scam | Phish Protection"
description: "What is Smishing and Why Organizations need to Keep Safe From This Phishing Scam: Smishing, a relatively new form of cyberattack, is threatening millions of."
image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/smishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam.png"
canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/smishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam/"
---

Quick Answer

\[Smishing\](/content/protection-from-phishing/types-of-phishing/), a relatively new form of cyberattack, is threatening millions of small businesses and consumers worldwide. \_Smishing is a phishing attack that uses text messages instead of emails to entice the recipients to click on phony links\_. The links draw them to websites which either download malware or exchange personal information.

Share 

[ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsmishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=What%20is%20Smishing%20and%20Why%20Organizations%20need%20to%20Keep%20Safe%20From%20This%20Phishing%20Scam&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsmishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsmishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsmishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam%2F&title=What%20is%20Smishing%20and%20Why%20Organizations%20need%20to%20Keep%20Safe%20From%20This%20Phishing%20Scam "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=What%20is%20Smishing%20and%20Why%20Organizations%20need%20to%20Keep%20Safe%20From%20This%20Phishing%20Scam&body=Check out this article: https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fsmishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam%2F "Share via Email") 

![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/09/spear-phishing-prevention-9715.jpg) 

[Smishing](/content/protection-from-phishing/types-of-phishing/), a relatively new form of cyberattack, is threatening millions of small businesses and consumers worldwide. _Smishing is a phishing attack that uses text messages instead of emails to entice the recipients to click on phony links_. The links draw them to websites which either download malware or exchange personal information.

### Some Eye-Opening Statistics

- A security software firm [reported](https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/gtd-pfpt-us-tr-state-of-the-phish-2020.pdf) that only **23% of users** above 55 years could define Smishing correctly. In comparison, _only 34% of people between 23-38 years of age demonstrated awareness of the term_.
- Upon the onset of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/blog/increased-phishing-attacks-during-pandemic-how-to-stay-safe-and-relevant-post-covid-era/), authorities started using SMS to communicate about contact tracing, lockdowns, and vaccine options. It created a fertile ground for threat actors to launch **smishing attacks**. The next caller said that 44% of Americans [reported](https://nextcaller.com/blog/next-caller-covid-19-fraud-report/) increased scam text messages and phone calls during the first two weeks of the lockdown period.
- In 2020, the Bank of Ireland [paid out](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/bank-of-ireland-does-u-turn-after-refusal-to-reimburse-smishing-victims-1.4326502) €800,000 (**About $935,000**) to 300+ bank customers whose information got compromised in a smishing scam.
- The FBI’s cybercrime complaint division, the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center), documented a steady growth of cyber scams globally in 2020\. It [reported](https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2020%5FIC3Report.pdf) **over 240,000 victims** of phishing, Smishing, vishing (phishing over the phone), and pharming attacks, **costing over $54 million** in losses.

### How Does Smishing Work?

Here’s how Smishing works:

- A malicious actor will send you an SMS (text message) that asks you to click on a link.
- If you click on the link, it will redirect you to a fake website that will ask you to enter your information in a phishing form. The threat actor controls this fake web form, but it looks identical to a trusted webform (like an Amazon login page or a PayPal login page).
- Alternatively, the website might try to download malicious software on your mobile device.
![Spear phishing prevention](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/09/spear-phishing-prevention-9715.jpg) 

Basically, like a [phishing email](/blog/sophisticated-new-tactic-makes-phishing-emails-harder-to-detect/), the cyber adversary tries to get your sensitive information through an SMS in a **smishing attack**. The malicious actor urges you to give your personal information, health insurance information, credit card number, or social security number, failing which something terrible might happen to you (your credit card might get blocked, etc. The best measure is to avoid the message and report it to relevant authorities.

### Why is Smishing Successful?

There are various reasons why Smishing is successful:

- Phishing and its variants like Smishing involve [social engineering tactics](/resources/protection-against-social-engineering-phishing-and-ransomware/) intended to convince victims of the sender’s trustworthiness, create urgency, or both. Trustworthiness gets established through official-looking emails, login pages, or contact names that the victim will recognize and trust.
- _Smishing attempts try to manipulate the victim’s emotional state and influence their judgment._ They make claims about already compromised accounts or suggest that a business disaster is imminent if appropriate steps are not taken.
- While emails are equipped with email [phishing protection](/), incoming text messages do not have traditional authentication systems and **spam filters** in place. Thus, the text messages lack the initial line of defense against **phishing attacks**.
- Text messages reflect a mix of personal and business correspondence. The familiar and varied threads in the user’s inbox can obscure suspicious information.
- _User fatigue also plays an important role that contributes to the success of smishing attacks_. Mobile users may receive hundreds of texts every day, and threat actors exploit every opportunity to steal information. Since these attacks can take many forms, they take advantage of the dropped defenses of the users.

### Are Individual Users The Sole Victims?

_While individual users are more prone to smishing attacks, businesses are also adversely affected by them_. These attacks frequently result in compromised system credentials, making them a significant **attack vector** against a wide range of business systems.

Risks involved with smishing attacks are not limited to having your customers or business users cough up sensitive information. Organizations need to be aware that their customers are potential targets of **phishing attacks** using their brand name and realize that such attacks can damage corporate [brand reputation](/content/brand-forgery/).

### How to Protect Against Smishing Attacks?

_Individuals must realize that they can keep themselves safe by simply doing nothing_. Smishing attacks cause damage only when the users take the bait. Following are the steps organizations can take to keep their employees safe from smishing threats:

- **\_Gain Knowledge About How Educated The Employees Are In Cybersecurity: \_**Before framing any policies, it can be helpful to understand your employees’ **cybersecurity awareness**. You can conduct a simple survey with questions that measures their alertness level against different scam attempts. Knowing your employees’ knowledge on the issue will help you develop your cyber [awareness training](/products/phishing-awareness-training/) program.
- **\_Have Clear Restrictions and Policies Around BYOD: \_**If employees can use their smartphones for work, _it is prudent to have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in place_. It will set clear guidelines and expectations around everything from cyber threat detection to app usage.
- **\_Use Access Control: \_**_Every employee does not need access to all the files_. Limit access to websites, networks, and databases to only the people who need to use them. It will reduce the potential exposure to smishing attacks. For instance, organizations can instruct employees to **encrypt files** and emails rather than sending them directly.
- **\_Encourage Employees To Notify About Potential Scams: \_**Ensure the workforce understands how to get advice on suspicious messages and report threats. The IT teams may have [anti-phishing solutions](/products/advanced-threat-defense/) in place, but they will need all the help they can get to track and stop new attacks.
- **_Keep Your Clients/Customers Informed About Possible Smishing Attacks:_** If it comes to your notice that someone is using your organization as part of a smishing or phishing campaign, inform your customers/ clients at the earliest. It will help you to prevent an unwanted data breach or corporate damage.

### Final Words

![Prevent spear phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/09/prevent-spear-phishing-6798.jpg) 

_Phishing attacks are continually evolving in complexity and subtlety_. Recent trends are testimony to the fact that smishing or **SMS phishing attacks** are rising rapidly. The best solution to counter these attacks is by simply becoming more aware. While businesses like delivery services and banks may send text messages occasionally, they will never require customers’ responses with personal information. For those running small businesses, stepping up [employee training](/products/phishing-awareness-training/) is the best [phishing protection](/) against smishing attacks.

## Topics

[ Phishing ](/tags/phishing/) 

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg) 

[ Brad Slavin ](/authors/brad-slavin/) 

General Manager

Founder and General Manager of DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across DuoCircle's 2,000+ customer base.

[LinkedIn Profile →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin) 

## Protect your inbox from phishing attacks

Real-time email security with 60-day free trial. No credit card required.

[Start Free Trial](https://portal.duocircle.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=101&brand=phishprotection) [View Pricing](/pricing/) 

## Related Articles

[  Foundational 5m  0ktapus, Okta Breach Helps Attackers Launch Sophisticated Supply Chain Attacks  Sep 5, 2022 ](/blog/0ktapus-okta-breach-helps-attackers-launch-sophisticated-supply-chain-attacks/)[  Foundational 4m  13 Spear Phishing Attacks Examples To Justify Investment For Phishing Prevention Solutions In Your Organization  Aug 1, 2019 ](/blog/13-spear-phishing-attacks-examples-to-justify-investment-for-phishing-prevention-solutions-in-your-organization/)[  Foundational 4m  All 14 centers of Kettering Health were affected by a massive ransomware attack, Major outage in the Ohio medical center  May 23, 2025 ](/blog/14-centers-of-kettering-health-were-affected-by-massive-ransomware-attack-in-ohio-medical-center/)[  Foundational 4m  2021 Phishing Trends You Need To Be Wary Of  Aug 2, 2021 ](/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of/)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}}}
```

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"What is Smishing and Why Organizations need to Keep Safe From This Phishing Scam","description":"What is Smishing and Why Organizations need to Keep Safe From This Phishing Scam: Smishing, a relatively new form of cyberattack, is threatening millions of.","url":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/smishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam/","datePublished":"2021-09-27T11:20:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T15:43:10.000Z","dateCreated":"2021-09-27T11:20:03.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin is the founder and General Manager of DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. He founded DuoCircle in 2014 and has led the company's growth to 2,000+ customers across its email security product family. Brad's focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/smishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam/"},"articleSection":"foundational","keywords":"Phishing","wordCount":1063,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/09/spear-phishing-prevention-9715.jpg","caption":"Phish Protection blog post image","width":1200,"height":630},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How Does Smishing Work?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Here's how Smishing works:"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is Smishing Successful?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"There are various reasons why Smishing is successful:"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Are Individual Users The Sole Victims?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"While individual users are more prone to smishing attacks, businesses are also adversely affected by them_. These attacks frequently result in compromised system credentials, making them a significant **attack vector** against a wide range of business systems."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How to Protect Against Smishing Attacks?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Individuals must realize that they can keep themselves safe by simply doing nothing_. Smishing attacks cause damage only when the users take the bait. Following are the steps organizations can take to keep their employees safe from smishing threats:"}}]}]
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://phishprotection.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Foundational","item":"https://phishprotection.com/foundational/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"What is Smishing and Why Organizations need to Keep Safe From This Phishing Scam","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/smishing-organizations-need-to-keep-safe-from-phishing-scam/"}]}
```