AI Crimes, Part 2
Smishing: Tracking Mail Scam
Last week, I provided examples of the growth of crimes due to Artificial Intelligence (AI). One of the items I mentioned is smishing, which has proven very successful for criminals targeting the business community and has multiple weekly deliveries.
The United States Postal Inspection Service defines Smishing this way:
“Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message intended to lure the recipient into providing their personal or financial information. These scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims. USPS utilizes the 5-digit short codes to send and receive SMS to and from mobile phones.
The criminals want to receive personally identifiable information (PII) about the victim, such as account usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information. This information is used to carry out other crimes, such as financial fraud.”
While this is undoubtedly an issue for the United States Postal Service, other delivery companies will also be targeted. Company credit cards and team members' sensitive information are sure to be targeted.
AI will quickly develop more sophisticated and multiple attempts at Phishing.
Response/Preventative Steps
Training is essential for mid-level and higher levels of leadership. Training should be designed to educate team members on identifying such a scam and the steps necessary to report this crime.
The USPS recommends the following:
Copy the body of the suspicious text message and paste it into a new email without clicking on the web link.
Please include your name in the email and attach a screenshot of the text message showing the sender's phone number and the date sent.
Include any relevant details in your email, such as whether you clicked the link, lost money, provided any personal information, or experienced any impacts on your credit or person.
The Postal Inspection Service will contact you if more information is needed.
Forward the smishing/text message to 7726 (this will assist with reporting the scam phone number).
To report USPS-related smishing, send an email to spam@uspis.gov.
Complaints of other related smishing can also be sent to a local law enforcement agency. In addition to this report, it is recommended to do the following:
Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI), Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3)
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