legitimate website of Apple and check whether there is any such notification, or he should call Apple customer care directly to verify.

Netflix Phishing Scam

This smishing scam also appeared in 2016. The scam mainly targeted Australian Netflix users.

This link also points to a fraudulent website that looks identical to the legitimate Netflix website and asks for sensitive credentials. A user receiving such an SMS, however, should verify the information by going to the legitimate Netflix website instead of clicking on the link, or the user should call Netflix’s customer care and report it.

How to prevent smishing?

We can always take a couple of steps to protect ourselves better.

• Never share your financial information via SMS, call, or email. A bank will never ask for that from any of its customers.
• Do not follow instructions on an SMS sent by an unknown sender. Delete such SMS instantly.
• Please be alert that an SMS claiming to be from your bank may not be genuine.
• Do not click on any link of an SMS sent by an unknown sender.
• If you get an unexpected SMS asking you to provide sensitive information quickly, be careful. Attackers often use social engineering techniques to create a sense of urgency in the victims and ask for a quick response so that victims do not have much time to think and reveal all the requested sensitive information instead.
• It is always good to block unwanted numbers from sending texts or calls.
• If an SMS sent by some unknown sender asks for calling a number, do not do that.
• If anything looks suspicious, do your research before responding. Sometimes a simple google search reveals a lot.
• Use your common sense and caution, and ensure you do not fall victim to identity theft.
• Beware of messages that come from numbers that do not look like phone numbers, such as 5000 numbers. These messages are actually sent by email-to-text services, which attackers often use to mask their identities.
• Never reply to suspicious messages hurriedly. If your bank is about to cancel your credit card, you should be able to call customer care and discuss the matter with them.

The above article gives a brief overview of smishing. Interested readers who want to know more about various techniques used by attackers in a phishing scam may want to refer to the book “Phishing: Detection, Analysis And Prevention.”

Security Fundamentals Practice Tests

The Security Fundamentals Practice Tests test one’s fundamental knowledge of cyber security. They are good for those preparing for various certification exams, such as the CCNA, CCNP, or CompTIA, and for students and IT/security professionals who want to improve their understanding of cybersecurity.