Global iOS, Android SMS phishing facilitated by Lucid PhaaS platform

BleepingComputer reports that Chinese cybercrime group XinXin has leveraged the Lucid phishing-as-a-service platform to target 169 organizations around the world with malicious Android and iOS smishing messages.Attacks involved the distribution of 100,000 end-to-end encrypted mobile phishing messages purporting to be tax, shipping, or toll payment alerts that include links redirecting to bogus websites spoofing Amazon, DHL, American Express, HSBC, the U.S. Postal Service, Royal Mail, and other organizations, a PRODAFT report revealed. Aside from facilitating the exfiltration of personal and financial details, Lucid also enables the immediate testing of pilfered credit cards through an integrated validator. “To enhance effectiveness, Lucid leverages Apple iMessage and Android’s RCS technology, bypassing traditional SMS spam filters and significantly increasing delivery and success rates,” said PRODAFT researchers, who added that attackers’ exploitation of both operating systems’ respective messaging technologies also bolsters the cost-effectiveness of the phishing scheme.