Cyber0pedia: hack

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<b>Cyber criminals can easily fake AT&T text messages and hack you</b></div>
The way AT&T send its consumers presents an easy opportunity for 
hacker to clone it and make phishing attempts to get your login 
credentials. “There’s a problem with the way AT&T sends out customer
 alerts via text message: They’re too easy to mimic,” Jose Pagliery 
reports for CNN.<br />
“With little effort, a scammer could send you alerts that look just like
 the real thing. Click on a link and the hacker will grab your login 
credentials — or fool you into giving up your credit card too,” Pagliery
 reports. “It’s yet another phishing scheme. But instead of email, 
hackers can target you with texts.”<br />
“The problem stems from AT&T not making its real alerts look legitimate enough,” said Dani Grant,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjtw_NzFP4KaykbClW6UG2wVK_FQ2ucSWVs_pYx-7MZGHzXvH3oImhkZxW4SrgYQvgD8e-KcLhHG1FAAsaPM_p8RbTHOsHdtyfqx3p6jtsw9fzk5H34aj50cCTeAM6p1i2fofhcxwRBg/s1600/150122093604-att-spoof-620xa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cyber crime" border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjtw_NzFP4KaykbClW6UG2wVK_FQ2ucSWVs_pYx-7MZGHzXvH3oImhkZxW4SrgYQvgD8e-KcLhHG1FAAsaPM_p8RbTHOsHdtyfqx3p6jtsw9fzk5H34aj50cCTeAM6p1i2fofhcxwRBg/s1600/150122093604-att-spoof-620xa.png" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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 the computer programmer who noticed the flaw. ‘If the official texts 
look like phishing, it’s impossible for the customer to distinguish 
between what’s phishing and what’s not,’ she added”<br />
The main problem is that AT&T doesnt have a standard and uniform 
short code number. Some of the messages come from a weird four digit 
short code which can be bought anywhere and AT&T sends the text 
messages from different numbers each time.<br />
Second problem is that the links in the text also are weird at times. 
 Some links point to att.com while others take you to 
dl.mymobilelocate.com
<br />
Third AT&T doesnt maintain a uniformity in the header title and the 
text messages dont have a consistent format. Some of the messages start 
with capital “AT&T FREE MSG,” while others are in lower case, 
“AT&T Free Msg.”<br />
This looks like a open invitation for cybercriminals to carryout phishing campaigns against the AT&T customers.<br />
To test her theory, Grant set up her own shortcode, bought a 
legitimate-looking website address and sent a message. Can you tell the 
difference?<br />
<img alt="Spoofed AT&T Text Messages" class="aligncenter wp-image-6674" height="179" src="http://techworm.vijayprabhu.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/77777777.jpg" title="" width="500" /><br />
AT&T declined to comment on this topic. Grant said she reported it 
to the company as a security flaw but hasn’t heard back from them.<br />
To be fair, though, AT&T isn’t the only one. Verizon sends out text 
messages from a 12-digit number that changes depending on the customer, 
and it sends links to vzwmobile.com or vzw.com.<br />
T-Mobile sends alerts from a three-digit short code (also different for every user) and links to t-mo.co.<br />
SMS text messages are convenient, because they’re reliable. You can get them anywhere, anytime on any phone.<br />
But Grant thinks these companies should opt for email instead, or 
communicate through a dedicated app. It’s easier for a company to make 
emails look official. And an app would, in most cases, keep out the bad 
guys.<br />
Next time you get a SMS from any of these companies do watch out for phishing links.</div>

hack hacker Security AT&T text messages can be faked to send phishing links to its customers

Cyber criminals can easily fake AT&T text messages and hack you The way AT&T send its consumers presents an easy opportunity for ...