With the booming popularity of smartphones, threats related to these devices are increasingly on the rise. Smishing, a combination of SMS (Short Message Service) and phishing has emerged as a treacherous cyber threat used by malicious actors to deceive users, aiming to steal sensitive information, money or install malware on their mobile devices. Despite the increase in smishing attacks in recent years, there are very few studies aimed at understanding the factors that contribute to a user's ability to differentiate real from fake messages. To address this gap in knowledge, we have conducted an online survey on smishing detection with 214 participants. In this study, we presented them with 16 SMS screenshots and evaluated how different factors affect their decision making process in smishing detection. Next, we conducted a follow-up survey to garner information on the participants' security attitudes, behavior and knowledge. Our results highlighted that attention and security behavioral scores had a significant impact on participants' accuracy in identifying smishing messages. Interestingly, we found that participants had more difficulty identifying real messages from fake ones, with an accuracy of 65.6% with fake messages and 44.6% with real messages. Our study is crucial in developing proactive strategies to encounter and mitigate smishing attacks. By understanding what factors influence smishing detection, we aim to bolster users' resilience against such threats and create a safer digital environment for all.

翻译：随着智能手机的普及，与之相关的威胁日益增多。短信诈骗（Smishing）是短信服务（SMS）与网络钓鱼（Phishing）的结合，已成为恶意行为者欺骗用户、窃取敏感信息、金钱或在移动设备上安装恶意软件的险恶网络威胁。尽管近年来短信诈骗攻击有所增加，但旨在理解用户区分真实与虚假信息的影响因素的研究却非常有限。为填补这一知识空白，我们开展了一项包含214名参与者的在线短信诈骗检测调查。研究中，我们向参与者展示了16张短信截图，并评估了不同因素如何影响他们在短信诈骗检测中的决策过程。随后，我们进行了后续调查，收集了参与者的安全态度、行为及知识信息。结果强调，注意力与安全行为得分对参与者识别短信诈骗的正确率有显著影响。有趣的是，我们发现参与者在区分真实与虚假信息时面临更多困难，对虚假信息的识别正确率为65.6%，而对真实信息的识别正确率仅为44.6%。我们的研究对于制定应对和缓解短信诈骗的主动策略至关重要。通过理解影响短信诈骗检测的因素，我们旨在增强用户对此类威胁的抵御能力，并为所有人创造一个更安全的数字环境。