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Smishing a huge threat to Manx residents

Recent bout of text message fraud

Watch more of the interview on the Manx Radio Portal.

Some Manx residents' private finances could be at serious risk, after many have been subjected to a bout of smishing attempts lately.

Smishing is short for SMS phishing - essentially, fraud committed through text messages on your mobile phone.

A text message will appear, claiming to be from the Isle of Man Bank - you are asked to call its fraud team because a large payment has been blocked, but as you answer security questions, the fraudsters gain complete access to your accounts.

There have been several high profile victims of the scam, including one of the expert panel guests on yesterday's Baker Tilly Budget Programme - Michael George of the Welbeck Hotel.

The Isle of Man Bank's Managing Director, Paul Smith, says under no circumstances should members of the public call a number given via text:

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