Learn the Truth About Vishing
How to Protect Yourself Immediately
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Today’s digital world is a complex network with many entry points for cybercriminals. In fact, it’s not just one type of cybercrime that you need to guard against. There are several different types of cybercrimes out there – and vishing is one that you should know about.
Also known as social engineering, vishing is an abbreviation for voice phishing or voice fraud, and it is a new way for scammers to get your information using your voice as the medium. Let us take a quick look at what vishing or phone phishing is, how it works, and how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of this growing online scam.
What is Vishing?
Vishing is a type of phishing scam where scammers trick you into giving up your personal information. They will call you to try to get you to give up your account details, such as usernames and passwords. They do this by pretending to be a legitimate business.
Vishing scams are typically targeted at people who are either in management positions or who have access to sensitive, confidential information. And why? Because these are the people whose information scammers are after. With vishing, you will receive a phone call that appears to be from a legitimate company. They will try to get you to share your personal information, such as account numbers, usernames, or passwords.
How does Vishing Work?
For vishing to work, scammers need to get their hands on your phone number. Luckily, this is not as simple as it may sound. Scammers will use several different tactics to get your phone number.
One way scammers get your phone number is by installing malicious software on your computer. This software is often installed when you visit a website that has been compromised or is infected with malware.
Another way scammers can get your phone number is by stealing your information from business directories or social media sites. Once they have your phone number, the scammers will call you and trick you into giving out your personal information.
Vishing Scams to Watch Out For
While there are many different types of vishing scams out there, there are three main vishing scams to watch out for. Let us take a closer look at each of these vishing scams.
The impostor scam
In this vishing scam, scammers will pose as a representative from a legitimate company. They will try to convince you that they are trying to fix a technical problem and ask you to give them your username and password. If you fall for this scam, you will risk having your account hacked and your data stolen.
The urgent request scam
In this scam, the scammers will pretend that there is a critical problem with your account, such as a breach in security or a problem with your payment method. They will then try to get you to reveal your account number so they can ‘fix’ the problem. This is a ploy to get your account number.
The service guarantee scam
The scammers will pretend to offer you a service guarantee in this scam. They will ask you to give them your username and password so they can fix a problem with your account.
How to protect yourself from vishing scams?
As we have seen, vishing scams can be pretty sophisticated. And vishing scammers have gotten very good at what they do. This can make it challenging to recognize these vishing scams for what they are.
Luckily, you can take steps to protect yourself from vishing scams. Let us take a look at some of these steps.
Be Cautious
Be cautious of cold callers: If you receive a phone call from a number you don’t recognize, don’t give out any information. At the very least, do a quick internet search to find out to whom the number belongs to. Be extra cautious if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a company you do business with. Scammers may try to use this to gain your trust and confidence.
Be careful when giving out sensitive information: Be careful when giving out your account numbers, usernames and passwords. Scammers may try to trick you into giving them this information by sounding very helpful. You will hear them claim a problem with your account that needs to be ‘fixed’ immediately. This is a scare tactic that is often used.
Avoid public Wi-Fi: Scammers often set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots. These hotspots have names that sound like popular businesses or companies. For example, “Starbucks Wi-Fi.” These are not real hotspots and are set up by scammers to trick you into giving sensitive information.
Final Words
Vishing is a phishing scam where scammers trick you into giving up your personal information. To sum up, you can avoid their scrupulous activity in multiple ways.
Always be on guard against vishing scams. You should report if you suspect you have received a vishing call. Vishing is a crime that is certainly not going away anytime soon. Stay safe and be aware. According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, you can take the below actions.
What do you do if you think you are a victim?
If you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the appropriate people within your organization, including network administrators. You will alert them for any suspicious or unusual activity.
If you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your account.
Immediately change any passwords you might have revealed. If you used the same password for multiple resources, make sure to change it for each account, and do not use that password in the future.
Watch for other signs of identity theft. (See Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft for more information.)
Consider reporting the attack to the police and filing a report with the Federal Trade Commission.
Always be on guard against vishing scams. You should report if you suspect you have received a vishing call. Vishing is a crime that is certainly not going away anytime soon. Stay safe and be aware.
#Vishing #Voice Phishing #social engineering