Scams Move From the Inbox to the Text Screen

Fraudsters are shifting their focus from email to text messages, creating a new layer of risk for retailers who offer digital payment and financing options. While banks and lenders have become very good at spotting suspicious logins or weird transaction patterns, they are blind to the 'smishing' (SMS phishing) conversations happening on a customer's phone. This means your customers might be tricked into authorizing a transaction or sharing financing credentials before the lender's security systems even trigger an alert. For operators, this shift is dangerous because it directly impacts customer loyalty. The report highlights that when a customer falls victim to a scam involving their financial account, they often blame the institution or the merchant where the transaction occurred, not the scammer. If a customer is tricked into using their Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) balance or a store credit line for a fraudulent purchase, they are significantly more likely to close their account and stop shopping with you entirely. You should expect lenders to tighten their verification steps, which might add friction at the point of sale. Monitoring for unusual patterns in mobile-originated transactions is now a necessity to protect your revenue and your reputation.

Source: PYMNTS

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