Found a strange text message? The possibility of ‘Smishing’ scam is increasing due to AI, experts have warned
If it seems that your phone is recently flowing with more spam text messages, then you are probably right.
The Canadian Anti-Frod Center says that the so-called “smiling” efforts appear to be growing, thanks to new techniques that allow for coordinated bulk attacks.
According to Center spokesperson Jeff Horncastal, to expose new goals, you can assure data from security violations or craft data of security violations, which is “more than probability” with the help of artificial intelligence devices.
Although the Center has actually received low fraud reports in the first six months of 2025, Horncastal says it may be misleading because so few people actually warn the Center for events.
A few days after the alert is sent by the Bureau of Competition Bureau, a warning comes, because, it says, many people are looking at more suspicious text messages.
Smishing is a type of portment of SMS and fishing, in which a text message is used to click on the link and try to achieve the goal to provide personal information.
Ruse comes in several forms, but often involves a message that urges immediate action to solve an alleged problem to come from a real outfit or business.
RBC told a customer that he is responsible for $ 14,510 after being a victim of a scam, where fraudulent banks or other fraudulent investigators pose as the customers, even though the customer says that RBC called him to mark the activity in his account. RBC says it is still investigating the case. (Explanation: A previous version of this video scored the lost amount in the bank scam. It has been updated to become more accurate.)
This can be about an inseparable package, a suspended bank account or the news of tax corresponding.
Horncastal says it differs from more involved scams such as a lesson invitation to call an alleged job recruitment, which then tries to extract personal or financial information by phone.
Nevertheless, he says that a lesson scam can be quite sophisticated because today’s fraudsters can use artificial intelligence to scan the data leaks for personal details that increase the Hocxes, or use AI writing tools to help write the text message.
“In the past, our message was always part: look for spelling mistakes. It is not always now,” he said.
“Now, this message can come from another country where English cannot be the first language, but because technology is available, there may not be mistakes like a few years ago.”
The competition bureau warns to click on suspicious links and forward texts at 7726 (SPAM), so that the cellular provider can further investigate. It also encourages people to remove smoching messages, block the number and ignore the texts, even if they ask to answer with “stop” or “no”.
Horncastal says that in the first six months of 2025, the Center received 886 reports of the spots till 30 June. It is trending below 2,546 reports in 2024, a decline from 3,874 in 2023. That too, in 2022 reports from 7,380 declines.
But those numbers do not tell the story enough, they say.
“We really get a very small percentage of what is there. And especially when we are looking at fishing or smooching, the reporting rate is very low. So usually we say we estimate that only five to 10 percent of the victims report fraud to the anti-Canadian-Frod Center.”
Horncastal says it is difficult to say how new technology is being used, but he notes is that AI is a frequent device for all types of nefarious plans such as manipulated photos, videos and audio.
“It is more than the possibility of growing due to various types of technology that is available for fraudsters,” Horncastal said.
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“So we will discuss a lot on AI where the fraudsters now have the equipment available. It is just reality, okay? Where they can craft fishing messages and send them to bulk through these highly sophisticated platforms through automation that are available.”
The Directorate of the Cosesman Bureau of the Competition Bureau says that an informed public is the best security against Sming.
Deputy Commissioner Josephine Palumbo said, “The bureau is constantly assessing the market and is able to know through our intelligence abilities that when scams are growing and have immediate effect on society,” said Deputy Commissioner Josephin Palumbo.
“This is where these alerts actually, actually use.”
She says it is difficult to track fraudsters using prepaid SIM cards to mold their identity while targeting the victims.
“Since the identity of the SIM card is lacking, the enforcement agencies like the competition bureau actually have a difficult time in tracking these criminals,” said Palumbo.
Fraudsters can also spoil the phone number, making it seem that a lesson has originated with a legitimate agency such as Canada Revenue Agency, Horncastal.
He said, “They can choose a number that they want to show randomly or if they are claiming to be a financial institution, they can perform on the number performance of the financial institutions,” he said.
“We have seen the CRA and even Canadian Anti-Frod Center (that), where the fraudsters have shown our phone number on the call display of the victims.”
