Many forms of communication

Fiddlers pose as not only private companies (e.g., couriers, banks, auction portals, telecoms) but also state institutions: ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) or Tax Offices. According to the report prepared by PhishLabs only over the last year the scale of phishing has gone up to 40%. What is interesting, over 80% of this type of cybercrime was targeted at financial, email, cloud, payment and SaaS * companies.

SMS Messages Under the Greater Risk than E-mail

SMS phishing, which has already been named as smishing, is a phishing fraud using fake SMS messages. A 2018 Symantec report shows that it can be much more dangerous than email phishing. Why? The research by Nielsen Polska shown that 93 out of 100 people read each SMS message received. If the content in it evokes extreme emotions and fear, it is a huge motivation to take an action and to make impulsive decisions. Usually, SMS messages are opened intuitively and their recipients do not expect danger coming from them.

Tide Software started an Anti-fraud System to Monitor SMS Dispatches

“SMS phishing is a great threat as it is much more difficult to monitor and react to than other phishing methods. What is more, in most cases, smartphones are much less secured than laptops. Because we take care of the safety of our clients, last year we started working on a well-developed anti-fraud system. From the beginning of September, after completing three-month tests with a complete success, we launched the production version of the system. It enables you to track and block all SMS messages which contain dangerous links. We are glad that we were able to make the implementation right now, as in the middle of the month the new regulations on payment service providers took effect. This change may be another chance for fiddlers and can contribute to increased extortion trials,” - Janusz Pytlak, the Vice President of Tide Software says.

Tide Software as one out of few companies in Poland started taking action if it comes to SMS phishing. The tool uses algorithms of machine learning and artificial intelligence extensively used in Tide Software solutions. Before summer holidays the company started testing security systems for SMS messages – the systems which could protect consumers from frauds with the use of phishing links placed in SMS messages. The results of these tests turned out to be highly satisfying, so the firm activated the anti-fraud system and started to monitor the whole SMS traffic from September. Thereby, all clients of the company received a full range system of monitoring and blocking SMS messages which can be a trial of extortion.

More about Tide Software

Tide Software is the telecommunication operator providing clients from Poland and abroad with telecommunication services since 10 years. The company helps to build a high quality consumer service by omnichannel communication through: SMS messages, voice connections, email, video and chat. Among clients of the company there are 6 out of 10 biggest banks and 8 out of 10 biggest debt collection agencies. Tide Software has also created a modern call center system supporting multichannel communication. It enables effortless linking of communication channels and aggregating data on potential and present clients in accordance with UODO (Personal Data Protection Office), KNF (Polish Financial Supervision Authority), UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) and UKE (Office of Electronic Communications) requirements.

*Source: „2019 Phishing trends and intelligence report”, PhishLab, available here: https://info.phishlabs.com/hubfs/2019%20PTI%20Report/2019%20Phishing%20Trends%20and%20Intelligence%20Report.pdf

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