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Smishing at Financial Institutions: How Relay Fights Back with Secure Digital Communication
In today’s digital-first world, smishing—a dangerous blend of SMS and phishing—is on the rise, and financial institutions are a prime target. These fraudulent messages pose as trusted organizations, luring individuals into clicking malicious links or providing sensitive data. As banks and credit unions rely more heavily on mobile communication to reach customers, the risk of smishing at financial institutions becomes increasingly urgent.
What is Smishing and Why are Financial Institutions at Risk?
Smishing attacks often disguise themselves as time-sensitive account alerts, suspicious activity warnings, or verification requests. A typical example might read: “Your account has been locked. Click here to verify your information.” These messages prey on a customer’s natural concern for their financial security—and because they look legitimate, they often succeed.
The financial industry is uniquely vulnerable to smishing due to:
- Increasing consumer preference for mobile and SMS-based communication
- High-value customer data
- Urgent, real-time communication needs
The Growing Threat: Smishing Statistics that Matter
The consequences of replying to or clicking on a smishing text can be dire. Customers risk significant security threats including accidentally downloading malware and viruses that can compromise account information leading to identity theft or financial theft. This is why prevention and education strategies are the key to combatting smishing. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Americans lost over $1.4 billion to cybercrime in 2017, and that number has only risen in the years since. In 2023, mobile-based phishing attacks, particularly smishing, increased by 39%. Cybercriminals are exploiting the reduced protection on mobile devices compared to email, making them a prime target for attacks. And specifically relevant for the financial services sector, in 2023, 23% of phishing attacks were aimed at financial institutions, highlighting the sector’s vulnerability to such threats. As smishing tactics grow more sophisticated, financial institutions must take proactive steps to protect their customers and maintain trust.
How Relay Combats Smishing at Financial Institutions
At Relay, we’ve built a secure and scalable communication channel tailored for regulated industries like financial services. Along with our robust security and compliance profile, including being TCPA-compliant, HIPAA-compliant, and HITRUST certified, we have thoughtfully crafted specific components of our channel to combat fraud and smishing. Here’s how we help organizations fight smishing while maintaining high levels of engagement:
- 1) Dedicated Short Codes
Relay sends all messages from dedicated short codes, unique to your institution. This makes it easier for customers to identify legitimate communications and allows mobile carriers to flag and block spoofed messages that originate from unauthorized sources. - 2) Secure, Branded Smart Links
- Every SMS from Relay includes a personalized, smart link that’s tied to the recipient’s device and branded with your organization’s name. This directs users to a secure, browser-based Relay Feed—no download required. We never send sensitive information via SMS itself, keeping your customers safer from fraud.
- 3) Customer Education to Defeat Smishing
- We believe the best defense is a well-informed customer. Relay provides:
- Pre-launch education materials
- FAQs and explainer videos
- Social media and website content
- Reference codes for message verification
- These resources prepare customers to recognize and trust Relay messages—and help them avoid smishing attempts posing as your brand.
- 4) Built-In Carrier-Level Protections
- Relay messages are routed through a compliant SMS aggregator, ensuring that only verified messages make it through to your customers. Any spoofing attempt that doesn’t match the official channel is automatically blocked at the carrier level.
- 5) Contact Card: Smishing Protection Made Even Smarter
- Our newest security innovation is Contact Card—a downloadable, verified contact card that allows customers to save your contact information to their mobile device. Once saved, all future texts appear as coming directly from your brand, adding yet another layer of trust and clarity.
- With Contact Card, you:
- Enable customers the ability to easily save verified contact information
- Overcome customer hesitancy to engage with unknown numbers
- Increase engagement with critical communications
Real Results: Reducing Smishing Risk While Increasing Engagement
Relay supports some of the most trusted names in financial services. Across our client base, we maintain opt-out rates below 1%, proving that security doesn’t have to come at the expense of engagement. In fact, secure communication increases customer confidence—and drives action.
Conclusion: Secure the Channel, Protect the Customer
As smishing at financial institutions becomes more prevalent, choosing the right partner is critical. Relay empowers banks, credit unions, and financial service providers to:
- Protect against smishing and fraud
- Build stronger customer trust
- Deliver timely, secure communications at scale
By prioritizing secure SMS strategies, smart customer education, and innovative tools like Contact Card, Relay helps you stay ahead of threats while building meaningful digital relationships with your customers.
Let’s fight smishing together. Connect with Relay to see how we can protect your customers while powering your customer engagement: sales@relaynetwork.com.
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