In an era where we are rarely without our cells, cybercriminals have come up with a new way to dupe us — by sending text messages. You might have heard of phishing — and now there’s a new term for it — smishing. What is smishing, you may ask? Smishing just means phishing via SMS. Instead of receiving suspicious emails, cybercriminals are sending text messages to bait victims to either confirm personal information or by clicking on malicious links.
For example, you receive a text that states, “Your bank account has been locked. Click here to confirm your detail.” The link may look official or even have your bank’s logo. Unfortunately, many click out of panic, and this is how we get caught up in a smishing scam.
The Increasing Incidence of Smishing in 2026
In 2026 we’ve seen a major increase in smishing and phishing schemes, and attack vectors. Attackers have become savvier by using AI to create messages blended with deepfake technology to make scams more personal. Just last week an instance involved a finance employee in Hong Kong joined a Zoom call with what appeared to be his CFO and team – just to find out later it was all fake. The deepfake video and AI voice deceived him into transferring $25 million.
Imagine similar technology on smishing texts. Attackers can easily spoof phone numbers and create legitimate messages and then add generative AI to recreate the tone and writing style of trusted contacts. It’s beyond predatory links in text and is now a personal form of deception that feels close to (if not convincing) human interaction.
Smishing Texts Commonly Seen
- One of the ways to induce smishing is through:
- Delivery notifications: “Your delivery has arrived. Click here to book a time.”
- Bank notifications: “Some strange transactions have been detected in your account. Confirm now.”
- Tax notices: “Your refund is under review. Give us your info today.”
- Streaming services: “Did not receive your payment for Netflix. Update your card details.”
A simple scenario would be receiving a message informing you that your electricity is about to be cut off because of an overdue bill and asking you to pay immediately. You are in a hurry, so you unsuspectingly click on the link and provide your credit card information, and in a flash, your bank account has been emptied. That is how smishing schemes take advantage of urgency and fear.
Smishing and Phishing — Are They the Same?
Both, when applied are deceptive, but the major distinction between the two comes down to the source. Phishing usually occurs through emails, whereas mobile users are the main target of smishing. Still, the overall aim is the same — to take data, cash, or both.
Interestingly, present-day hackers engage in a mixed-up manner. They may start with smishing messages then follow up with vishing calls or emails, thereby forming complex attacks that are more difficult to detect.
Why Smishing Works
Smishing works primarily due to its over-all outlook as a flower of luxury. In giving out the messages from friends, family, or reliable brands we get mentally conditioned. The culprits are very much aware of this psychological trigger.
A text gives the impression of being urgent, concise, and sometimes harmless. People who get emails that many now scrutinize very closely still think that SMS messages are authentic and real.
The AI mixed in fraud can be even more confusing and tormenting. Over and above that, criminals can now execute thousands of fake smishing attacks in a short span of time, with each message being personalized according to your place, your daily activities, or your recent internet usage.
The Growing Impact of Mobile-Based Scams
Recent cybersecurity statistics have shown that in 2024 alone, there were over 38 million phishing attacks around the world. In the beginning of 2026, approximately a million new phishing sites came up, many of which were connected to mobile-based attacks. The biggest portion was made up of invoice-themed scams — about one-third of the phishing emails contained fake payment notifications.
The trend is quite clear, and it reconfirms that smishing is not only a nuisance that comes occasionally but also a major cyber threat. The global trend of mobile banking and online transactions has raised the risk factor significantly.
Protecting Yourself and Your Organization
The starting point for detecting smishing attacks is awareness. If you feel that a message you receive is urgent, prioritize precaution and do not immediately click links. Rather, go directly to the primary website or app instead of using the indicated number or link in the text.
Organizations also need increased protective measures. This is when an investment in a Dark Web Monitoring Solution will come in handy. Many of the stolen credentials or personal information leveraged in smishing attacks originate from data breach compromises – often happening on the dark web first. If your organization is monitoring these boards and forums under the radar, the organization at minimum would know once company information is starting to surface and faster can respond to a potential threat prior to the criminals taking further steps.
In addition to this, deploying a strong Threat Intelligence Product will provide your organization the ability to identify and monitor attack campaigns in real-time versus seeing the impacts of those attacks after the fact. Synergistically, including a CSMP Tool and Attack Surface Protection Solution(s) will help you continuously secure cloud infrastructure and your external surfaces to enable enhanced advanced threat protection for your organization without having a compromised aspect or weakness for an attacker to exploit.
Cyble’s Role in Tackling Smishing Threats
Cyble takes a comprehensive approach to threat management. Through its Dark Web Monitoring Solution, the company applies machine learning and natural language processing to probe the most concealed online marketplaces and forums, thus establishing connections between the rising threats and the would-be victims. Consequently, organizations are able to promptly risk-assess and implement measures that could stop the smishing or other hacking via social engineering attacks.
In addition, the Cyble’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Platform offers an in-depth visibility not only into the enemy’s moves but also their entire arsenal. It is only through this platform that organizations can monitor the activities of the hackers and set the right priorities for mitigating the risks. The CASB tool from Cyble also acts as security for cloud-based systems by guaranteeing constant compliance and the early detection of any weaknesses — this has become very important since working from home and using mobile devices have become the way of life.
The combination of these products makes Third Party Cybersecurity Solutions even stronger and assists companies in not only spotting but also forecasting the threats — those that are even linked to an innocuous text message at the beginning will not escape detection.
Conclusion
Cybercrime continues to grow, and smishing scams are an example of how quickly attackers can modify their attacks based on our habits. While we continue to lean on the convenience of our mobile devices for urgent tasks — such as banking or purchasing — trust in text messaging will only remain a risk.
Therefore, the next time you get an urgent or too-good-to-be-true text message, remember to pause before responding. Cybercriminals are counting on you to react with impulse at that moment, and your best defense is consideration.
In 2026 and onward, you will also need to combine user awareness with smart technology to stay secure — such as a Dark Web Monitoring Solution, Threat Intelligence Product, and Attack Surface Protection Solutions — in a world where your smartphone’s inbox can’t be trusted.
