WMC Global, a fifteen-year leader in mobile threat intelligence, today is spreading the word about the rising problem of SMS phishing and what consumers can do to keep themselves safe.
Mobile devices are at the center of users’ digital lives and consumers open 98% of the text messages they receive (as opposed to only 20% of emails) which makes this channel rife with the opportunity for threats. As SMS continues to be a dominant consumer touchpoint, there is a growing need to empower users to contribute to a trusted digital lifestyle by reporting suspicious messages and helping prevent them in the future. In response, WMC offers SpamResponse for consumers, a simple and free mobile application that enables them to easily report potential text message spam, scams, and SMS phishing links.
SpamResponse for consumers combines ease-of-use and effectiveness, allowing customers to report spam messages without having to contact customer service or follow a complicated process. Importantly, SpamResponse doesn’t collect any private customer data, making the reporting simple, secure, and anonymous. WMC Global’s close relationships with mobile network operators (MNOs) position them uniquely to use the data from SpamResponse reporting to perform mobile number mitigation and takedown for numbers known to be distributing scams and phishing attacks. WMC Global uses text message data to augment our threat research to draw comparisons and look for patterns. SpamResponse reporting is a powerful data source to identify attackers as well as to hold companies accountable for the messages they send and the practices used.
"Consumers want to report suspicious and malicious messages, but very often don’t know how or where to do so," explains Ian Matthews, President and CEO of WMC Global. He adds, "At WMC Global, we work closely with MNOs, meaning text messages are investigated for phishing, regulatory compliance, and threat intelligence to identify patterns of abuse making a material difference in the mobile ecosystem.”
Consumers are the first line of defense against SMS phishing attacks and are integral to building a cleaner SMS ecosystem. Because of this, WMC Global believes in encouraging the creation of a community around digital civic duty. When a consumer reports a suspicious message or link to SpamResponse, they are triggering a chain of events that assists WMC Global and their industry partners to stop scams and phishing attacks. Importantly, when a user reports a suspicious message, they are protecting others who may be more vulnerable to attacks. Reporting any kind of intelligence can lead to arrests of threat actors and stop others from experiencing the same thing in the future.
SpamResponse is available on both Android and iOS devices and is free to all consumers. It is designed to integrate seamlessly into a consumer’s digital life so that reporting becomes natural when they receive a suspicious message. When a consumer reports SMS texts as spam, WMC global investigates the message to map spammers' online activities. The company documents these shared experiences and once they have enough evidence, they work with the relevant parties, including businesses, technology providers, and other industry resources, to shut down pathways for spam delivery.
To learn more about SpamResponse, visit: https://www.spamresponse.com.
About WMC Global
WMC Global is a market leader in digital threat intelligence with headquarters in Fairfax, VA and offices in London, UK and Sydney, AU. WMC Global delivers world-leading technology and solutions, enhanced by an unrivaled team of experts to protect their clients' brands by protecting their customers. As a well-respected industry player in the mobile space, WMC Global is the most trusted digital compliance firm in North America, having partnered with all Tier 1 mobile carriers for the past 15 years. The WMC Global portfolio is at the forefront of fighting text messaging with SpamResponse, eradicating phishing attacks, keeping cyber criminals from targeting brands, and monitoring consumer experiences for industry compliance. WMC Global provides its partners with proprietary data feeds of phishing attacks, threat response and takedown services, automated partner due diligence, and customer experience monitoring. For more information, follow WMC Global on Twitter and LinkedIn.
