30 May The rise of SMS scams: Protect your company and your customers
SMS scams – we’ve all heard the horror stories of people being conned out of their life savings or having all their personal information hacked. SMS scams are one of the fastest-growing scams in recent years, and as technology advances, so do the tactics used by scammers to defraud people. These scams are very clever at tricking people into giving away sensitive information or money. It’s more important than ever that businesses and individuals protect themselves against potential scammers. For a business, leaking vital information or being at the centre of a scam can go a long way in harming its reputation. Luckily, there are ways to stay safe against scams, and touchSMS is one of those solutions.
How do SMS scammers gain your trust so easily?
SMS scammers can be either individuals or groups of people who use text messages to trick you into giving something away, either money or private information. And they are getting better at it all the time. People who don’t think they can be scammed can sometimes find themselves at the raw end of a scam. Scammers pose as legitimate companies, government agencies or financial institutions. The messages they send can be very convincing and may include links to fake websites with URLs that look very similar to the official ones. Often, they will ask you to verify information or request funds to resolve what seems like a big problem for you.
Common SMS scams
One common SMS scam is the “smishing” scam. In this scam, the scammer poses as a legitimate company, such as your bank or credit card company, and sends you a text message requesting you to verify your account information. They may include a link to a scarily real-looking website where you are prompted to enter your personal information. The message you get could be anything from “your account will be locked if you don’t act soon” or “We’ve increased your credit, finalise the process here.”
Another common SMS scam is the “package delivery” scam. In this scam, the scammer poses as a delivery company and sends you a text message stating that your package is ready for delivery, but first, you must pay a small fee to release it. The message may contain a link to a fake payment page where you are prompted to enter your payment information. Ever felt the excitement of an unexpected parcel being delivered? This scam plays on that emotion and relies on this excitement for us to let our guard down.
What you can do to protect yourself and your customers
The very first thing you can do to protect your customers, and your business reputation, is to educate your customers and staff. Provide information about common scams and advise them not to click on links, ever, or provide personal information, ever, in response to unsolicited text messages.
Secure application access and protect data with two-factor authentication
You can also implement measures like two-factor authentication to help protect your clients or customers. Two-factor authentication or 2FA requires users to provide two forms of identification, such as a password and a code sent to their phone, before accessing their account. This helps to prevent unauthorised access to their account even if their password is compromised. At touchSMS, we have developed a simple pre-built API that allows you to easily implement 2FA via SMS into your application and help protect your customers from allowing unwanted access to their accounts and information.
Protect your reputation with a custom sender ID
Custom sender IDs are another way to help protect customers from SMS scams. A custom sender ID is a personalised sender name, usually the name of your business or company that is immediately recognisable by your customer. This helps customers recognise when messages from your company are legitimate or not and can help prevent them from falling for phishing scams.
Why integrating extra security measures into your SMS application is important
Looking out for your customer’s best interests is in your business’s best interest. By integrating a couple of security measures that may protect your customers from SMS scammers has many advantages.
Firstly, it may reduce the amount of scam messages your customers receive. And having a validation process for any information or access requests goes a long way in establishing trust with your clients and customers. Trust us, when your customers trust you, your return on investment goes up. 2FA and custom sender IDs also protect your reputation from being sullied by SMS scammers posing as you. When your customers know they are receiving SMS messages from a legitimate source, they are more likely to open your messages.
Protecting your customers from SMS scams is essential for maintaining trust and loyalty. TouchSMS is packed with features you need and love including the option to choose a custom sender ID or to integrate a simple two-factor authentication into your application. Contact us today to learn more about how touchSMS can help propel your business forward with great SMS solutions and at the same time help protect your good brand name from SMS scammers. Give us a try, we have no set up or hidden fees and no lock-in contracts.