Credit card holders 'should be wary of "smishing" threat'
Smishing, where fraudsters use text messages to target victims rather than the internet, is on the rise, according to one group.
Credit card holders 'should be wary of "smishing" threat'”
Credit card holders are being warned by the fraud prevention squad Cifas to watch out for the fraud method.
The smishing trend comes as banks and other financial services providers increasingly contact customers by text message.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has also warned that fraudulent text messages have been sent to victims asking for financial information.
Similarly this was because HMRC has been using text messages to contact people, a fact which fraudsters have exploited.
According to UK payments industry association Apacs, fraud where the card is not present amounted to £328.4 million in 2008. This is an increase of 13% since the previous year.
Richard Hurley, Cifas communications manager, said: "While the rest of us are reining in our behaviour as a result of the recession, the increase in facility takeover and online frauds demonstrates clearly that fraudsters are simply redirecting their efforts."
Written by Marcus Jenkins ©
