If it seems like your phone has been blowing up with more spam text messages recently, you’re probably right.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says so-called “smishing” attempts appear to be on the rise, thanks in part to new technologies that allow for co-ordinated bulk attacks.
Smishing is “more than likely increasing” with help from artificial intelligence tools that can craft convincing messages or scour data from security breaches to uncover new targets, according to the centre’s spokesperson, Jeff Horncastle.
Though the centre has actually received fewer fraud reports in the first six months of 2025, Horncastle says that can be misleading because so few people actually alert the centre to incidents.
The warning comes days after the Competition Bureau sent an alert about the tactic because, it says, many people are seeing more suspicious text messages.
Smishing is a sort of portmanteau of SMS and phishing, in which a text message is used to try to get the target to click on a link and provide personal information.
The ruse comes in many forms but often involves a message that purports to come from a real organization or business urging immediate action to address an alleged problem.
RBC told a customer she’s responsible for $14,510 after she was the victim of a scam, where fraudsters pose as bank or other fraud investigators, even though the customer says RBC called her to flag the activity in her account. RBC says it is still investigating the matter. [Clarification: A previous version of this video rounded up the amount Plett lost in the bank scam. It has been updated to be more precise.]
It could be about an undeliverable package, a suspended bank account or news of a tax refund.
Horncastle says it differs from more involved scams such as a text invitation to call a supposed job recruiter, who then tries to extract personal or financial information by phone.
Nevertheless, he says a text scam might be quite sophisticated since today’s fraudsters can use artificial intelligence to scan data leaks for personal details that bolster the hoax, or use AI writing tools to help write convincing text messages.
“In the past, part of our messaging was always: watch for spelling mistakes. It’s not always the case now,” he said.
“Now, this message could be coming from another country where English may not be the first language but because the technology is available, there may not be spelling mistakes like there were a couple of years ago.”
The Competition Bureau warns against clicking on suspicious links and forwarding texts to 7726 (SPAM), so that the cellular provider can investigate further. It also encourages people to delete smishing messages, block the number and ignore texts even if they ask to reply with “STOP” or “NO.”
Horncastle says the centre received 886 reports of smishing in the first six months of 2025, up…
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