FraudScope // Threat Library // Smishing (SMS phishing)
Phishing // SMS
Smishing (SMS phishing)
Smishing is phishing by text message. It thrives because a small screen hides the full link, texts feel personal, and we read them fast. Here is how smishing works and how to check a suspicious text before you tap.
What it is
Phishing that fits in a text
Smishing combines "SMS" and "phishing." The attacker sends a text impersonating a bank, carrier, retailer, or government office, with a short message and a link or callback number.
Texts are uniquely effective for scammers. The screen is small, so the full web address is hard to inspect, and we tend to read and react to texts quickly, often within seconds.
Red flags
How to spot a smishing text
- A link in a text urging you to log in, pay, or "verify" urgently.
- A sender that is a random personal phone number, not a short code or known line.
- A shortened or odd-looking web address that hides its destination.
- A message about a package, account, or prize that does not quite fit your life.
- A request to reply with personal details or a one-time code.
In their words
What it looks like
How FraudScope helps
Built for the text in your hand
FraudScope is designed for exactly this moment. Paste the text or use the iOS Share Sheet straight from Messages, and it explains the smishing attempt and quotes the link. URL Deep Inspection (a Pro feature) shows the link’s true destination and age.
Analysis runs entirely on your iPhone and makes no network requests. The only time FraudScope touches the internet is if you tap Inspect URL to check where a link really goes, and it tells you before it does.
Questions
Frequently asked
How do I check a suspicious text on my iPhone?
Do not tap the link. Use the iOS Share Sheet to send the message to FraudScope, or paste it in, and it will explain whether it is a scam and what the link really points to. To verify the underlying account, open the official app yourself.
Is it safe to reply STOP to a scam text?
It is safer not to reply at all. Replying, even with STOP, can confirm to the scammer that your number is active and monitored. Instead, delete the message and report it by forwarding to 7726 (SPAM) where supported.
Does FraudScope send my messages anywhere?
No. Analysis runs entirely on your iPhone with no network connection. The only time it contacts the internet is if you choose to inspect a link’s destination, and it tells you before it does.
Will FraudScope catch every scam?
No tool can. FraudScope is strongest with the full content of a message and weaker with a bare screenshot that has no link or sender. It is a powerful second opinion, not a guarantee. When in doubt, slow down and check with someone you trust.
Read the scam before it reads you
FraudScope explains what a suspicious message is really trying to do, entirely on your iPhone. Now available on the App Store.