What is it? Phishing attempts via text message with the objective of deceiving the victim by persuading them to provide personal information (e.g. access codes) via what looks like a legitimate text message (attributable to an entity or party held to be reliable).
How can I recognize it?
Inappropriate style: the message contains expressions or words that are inappropriate to the sender, including of an intimidatory nature.
Urgency: the text message invites the recipient to perform an action, such as to confirm their identity, with the utmost urgency, often citing administrative or legal reasons with an imminent deadline.
Grammatical errors: the content of the text messages contain typos, errors of spelling, or inaccurate punctuation.
False links: the text message contains links to websites where the actual destination does not match the name of the link.
What should I do?
Beware of any request to provide sensitive data urgently, whether credentials for accessing home banking, device codes, account or card data.
Don’t click on any links in the text message that look suspicious, as these might lead to fake websites.