UK Visas And Immigration Alert: Phishing Attempts Targeting SMS Accounts

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The phishing attempt purports to be from the Office, uses sophisticated terminology, and cites compliance action, suspension or revocation notices, with a warning to immediately login to the sponsorship management system (SMS).

The emails provide a link which takes user(s) to a screen that mimics the SMS log in portal. They are then asked to provide their login credentials, which may then be captured to gain access to their SMS account, primarily used to apply for and assign certificates of sponsorship (CoS).

The emails are often sent to generic mailboxes listed on websites e.g. info@sponsororg.com but may also be sent to personal work email address(s). There have also been recent reports of mailboxes receiving high volumes of spam emails in order to mask CoS payment receipts.

The Office will only ever send email communications relating to your sponsor licence to the email address(s) provided for your nominated key personnel.

If you have received a phishing email, clicked an unauthorised link, and entered your user details, you must log into the SMS account and follow the steps set out in the 'how to securely access your SMS account' section, then select 'change password' to change your password.

After you have done this, you must follow the steps set out in the 'urgent actions to secure your SMS account' section, followed by the steps in the 'if you find a suspicious activity on your SMS account' section.

If you have not received a phishing email, it is still advised that you take the following urgent actions to ensure that there is no unauthorised activity on your SMS account:

If you have received an email or telephone call that doesn't seem genuine, or you have concerns that your SMS account has been compromised, you must report it to the Office as soon as possible so that actions can be taken to secure your account.

You must provide the Office with the following details:

These details must be sent to one of the email addresses below with the subject header 'SMS Account Compromise':

If your SMS account has been compromised, the Office will take steps to secure your data. This includes:

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought your specific circumstances.