A recent increase of cyber criminals impersonating Intermountain executive leaders through text messaging shows how insidious “smishing” can be. The term “smishing” or “SMS-phishing” is used to describe when scammers send misleading text messages to trick individuals into sharing personal information, giving money, or downloading malware.
Do your part in protecting yourself against smishing and other cybersecurity threats. If you receive a questionable text from a leader or colleague, ask yourself:
- Is this request like other reasonable job tasks that align with my day-to-day work?
- Why was this request made via text message and not through normal work channels, such as email? When in doubt, confirm a request by sending an email, or contacting the individual directly to verify whether it’s a legitimate request.
- Why is there a sense of urgency? Does the urgency of the request line up with the request? For example, why would a leader need a gift card immediately?
With the increase in scammers utilizing these methods, the Cybersecurity team would like to remind you that Intermountain will never ask you for:
- Personal information
- PIN numbers
- Credit/debit card numbers
- Social Security Numbers
Remember, if it looks suspicious—even via text message—it probably is. Make sure you report any suspicious texts to cybersecurity by emailing cybersecurity@imail.org