The Postal Service wants employees to be aware of smishing attacks on USPS-issued mobile devices.
The attacks involve urgent text messages about USPS parcels that require immediate action, a common smishing tactic.
Smishing is a text version of phishing — emails sent from seemingly legitimate entities designed to con recipients into divulging proprietary information.
Cyber criminals are increasingly using smishing attacks because text messages are often viewed as more trustworthy than emails by consumers, who send approximately 20 billion text messages every day in the United States.
Smishing messages contain links to scam websites and are usually sent from spoofed phone numbers that disguise original sender’s number.
Don’t click on any link or attachment in a message sent from a text mobile phone number you don’t have saved in your contacts list or cannot verify.
To secure the USPS network and avoid smishing scams, filter unfamiliar text mobile phone numbers by following these steps:
• Apple users: Go to “Settings,” then “Messages” and toggle on the “Filter Unknown Senders” option. This will create a new tab in your Messages app called “Unknown Senders.”
• Android users: Go to “Settings,” then “Spam Message Settings” and select the “Block Unknown Senders” option.
The CyberSafe at USPS Blue and LiteBlue pages have additional information.
