variants
or less commonly SMiShing
: the practice of sending text messages to someone in order to trick the person into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used for criminal purposes
Don't get too excited if you receive a text message announcing you've won a gift card from a big retailer. Chances are it's smishing—or scams perpetrated by text messages.—
Emily Glazer
Emily GlazerSmishing is essentially phishing ported to mobile devices and typically arrives in the form of a text message suggesting the user has signed up for a service, and will be charged until they cancel using a web site. The site then prompts the user to click on a link, which actually triggers the download of a Trojan horse …—Computing
Computingcalled also SMS phishing
compare phishingExamples of smishing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Phishing and smishing Be wary of unsolicited texts (smishing) or emails (phishing).
—Cortlynn Stark, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2024
Teaching employees how to spot and avoid common phishing, smishing and other social engineering attacks can greatly reduce breaches caused by the human element.
—Chris Novak, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Mitigation Methods The advent of offensive AI raises the stakes also with phishing, smishing and vishing.
—Carlo Tortora Brayda, Forbes, 17 July 2023
The exact strategy the FCC will take against smishing will likely evolve, but expect a more concerted effort by both the government and wireless carriers.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 13 May 2022
The security advice for guarding against smishing isn't much different from the advice for protecting your devices against any other kind of threat.
—David Nield, Wired, 12 Dec. 2021
Donna Gregory, unit chief for the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, warned against responding to apparent smishing attempts.
—NBC News, 6 May 2021
Enlarge / Infection flow with DNS hijacking and smishing.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2023
Consider social media as a subset target of social engineering attacks where things like phishing, smishing, and unexpected phone calls are all part of the spectrum of threats.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 26 May 2022
Cortlynn Stark, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2024
Teaching employees how to spot and avoid common phishing, smishing and other social engineering attacks can greatly reduce breaches caused by the human element.
—Chris Novak, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Mitigation Methods The advent of offensive AI raises the stakes also with phishing, smishing and vishing.
—Carlo Tortora Brayda, Forbes, 17 July 2023
The exact strategy the FCC will take against smishing will likely evolve, but expect a more concerted effort by both the government and wireless carriers.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 13 May 2022
The security advice for guarding against smishing isn't much different from the advice for protecting your devices against any other kind of threat.
—David Nield, Wired, 12 Dec. 2021
Donna Gregory, unit chief for the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, warned against responding to apparent smishing attempts.
—NBC News, 6 May 2021
Enlarge / Infection flow with DNS hijacking and smishing.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2023
Consider social media as a subset target of social engineering attacks where things like phishing, smishing, and unexpected phone calls are all part of the spectrum of threats.
—Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 26 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smishing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near smishing
Cite this Entry
“Smishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smishing. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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