What is Vishing?: Everything you Need to Know about this Voice Scam

by Syntax Technologies Software Testing Training

Phones have become an indispensable aspect of human lives. They have evolved as a window which helps you to remain connected to the world beyond. But, do you know that this little companion of yours, can in fact become a medium for a cyber attack too? Yes, you heard it right; phone calls can tantamount to an entirely different category of cyber attack and this forms the crux of the answer to the question of what is Vishing.

In this blog, we shall try to understand what is Vishing in Cyber Security. We will look at what is vishing attack in terms of its types and examples. Moreover, the query of what is a vishing attack, shall be sought to be understood in its entirety through differentiating vishing from phishing and smishing.

What is Vishing?

What is Vishing Attack: Examples

Types of Vishing Attack

Difference between Vishing, Phishing and Smishing

How to Detect a Vishing Attack?

What is Vishing: Prevention Strategies

Recovery and Resilience

Conclusion

What is Vishing?

Vishing is a type of cyber crime which operates as a phone scam wherein callers (cyber criminals) persuade/force/convince you to reveal sensitive, confidential and personal information over the call. A Vishing Attack is considered to be a combination of Voice and a Phishing Attack. Generally, it involves the extraction of personal or financial information from the victims over a fraudulent phone call.

The basis of vishing lies in convincing the victims that they are doing the right thing in revealing their information to the caller. Sometimes, the cybercriminals even resort to forceful and strong language in intimidating the victims for revealing data. Moreover, technological advancements have made it even easier to contact more and more people. Hundreds of calls can be placed at a time using VoIP (Voice over Internal Protocol) Technology and the Caller ID can be spoofed in order to dupe the victims into believing that the call is from a trusted source. 

What is Vishing Attack: Examples

·         Bank Impersonation

Under this type of Vishing Attack, a cyber criminal might impersonate the Bank, Credit Card Company or other financial institutions which the victim has reasons to trust. Through the spoofed phone call, the victim is usually told by the scammer that either there has been some suspicious activity at the end of his bank account or there is some issue with his credit card and so on. Consequently, the victims are asked to confirm their bank details, mailing addresses, account numbers and so on.

·         Telemarketing Attack

The chance to get hold of a free prize is an attractive prospect for each one of us. Unfortunately, cyber criminals seek to exploit this basic human instinct as bait for alluring victims. Vishing takes place when victims are instigated to divulge confidential information in exchange of claiming the free prize.

·         Tech Support Fraud

 Callers adopt the spam identity of a tech support from a reputable company. Victims are falsely informed of unusual activity at the end of their account and asked to confirm their account details. At times, they are also asked to provide their email address, to which they are promised of being sent a software update, which often ends up being a way to implant malware in the victim’s system.

·         Social Security Scams

Cyber criminals might pose as medical representatives or government agents in order to extract bank account details or Medicare number from the victim. Through this, the crook might use the healthcare benefits of the victim.

·         Tax Scam

The victim is told of some kind of issue at the end of his tax returns through a pre-recorded voice message. He is intimated to call back or else threatened of a warrant for arrest being issued in his name. The scammer usually makes use of a spoofed caller ID in order to allegedly pretend that the call is from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). 

Types of Vishing Attack

·         VoIP

This technology facilitates the creation of fake numbers which can easily be used to hide real identity. These numbers are not easily traceable and can be made to appear local.

·         Dumpster Diving

This technique involves diving into dumpsters behind office buildings, banks and other random organizations, with the objective of collecting valid phone numbers. Cyber criminals often end up acquiring sufficient information which could facilitate a Vishing Attack against an individual.

·         Wardialing

It involves numerous automated calls being made to hundreds or thousands of numbers. More often than not, the cyber criminal uses specific software to call area codes, with a pre-recorded message which involves the name of a local organization, local bank, and police department and so on. The victims are often threatened with voice messages which command them to call back the scammers. Besides, they are also urged to divulge their financial details, social security information and much more.

·         Caller ID Spoofing

This strategy is used by cyber crooks to take cover behind the garb of fake numbers and caller Ids. Their name is listed as unknown or they put up the pretense of being a legitimate caller from some legitimate governmental department.

Difference between Vishing, Phishing and Smishing

The domain of Cyber Security Course is an expansive one. Moreover, it has come to harbor diverse kinds of digital attacks and threats. However, if you really wish to understand the nitty-gritty of the field, it is not just enough to know what is vishing, but also make sense of the difference between vishing and two very closed related terms to it, phishing and smishing.

How to Detect a Vishing Attack?

Telecoms do have fraud detection systems in place which help in giving some kind of a warning such as “Scam”, “Fraud Risk” and so on, on caller id when a suspected malicious call is received. However, this system is not fullproof and cannot be depended upon, to filter all such threatening calls. Hence, it is important to be aware of some of the tell-tale signs of a Vishing Attack.

·         The caller claims to represent some federal/governmental agency

It is important to remember that authentic governmental agencies would never seek to initiate contact with you through voice calls, text messages or email and ask you for any sort of financial or personal information. If you do receive a call from someone who claims to be such a legitimate representative, you should at once be doubtful.

·         The caller asks you to provide sensitive or confidential information

Follow one simple motto, ‘never ever real any kind of identifying information’ to anyone. This holds true in all situations and even when the scammer seeks to convince you by validating some of your existing information, you should not fall prey to such crooks.

·         Usually, there is a sense of urgency

At times, scammers intimidate their victims with threats of arrest, account suspension, social security benefits suspension and so on. In such situations, it is important to remain calm and refrain from giving into such claims.

               

 What is Vishing: Prevention Strategies

·         Register to the National Do Not Call Registry

You can add your phone number to this registry free of cost which conveys a message to the telemarketers that you do not want their calls.

·         Do not Share any Personal/Identifying Information over the Phone

You should never share any personal or confidential information over the phone. Authentic organizations never ask or try to convince you to provide them with any of those sensitive information.

·         Try to Avoid Calls from Unknown Numbers

Do not be tempted to answer each and every call, especially those which come from unknown numbers. You can let those calls go to voicemail and decide later whether you should call the person back or not.

·         Investigate

Notwithstanding the identity that scammer professes to present, it is always important to countercheck. If the caller tries to allure you with baits of cash money or free prize, always ask them for some sort of a proof by which you can verify what they are saying. If they refuse to provide any such information, simply hang up.

·         Do not Respond to Prompts

Never press buttons, oblige to requests or respond to any prompts, from sources which you fail to understand. The responses are used by cyber criminals to identify potential targets for more robocalls.

·         Hang Up

It is important for you to be aware and be alert. The moment you suspect a phone scam through a Vishing Attack, simply hang up.

Recovery and Resilience

You might be aware of what is Vishing; however, there might be a situation wherein you do happen to unfortunately fall prey to a Vishing Attack. In such a situation, what should you do?

1.      If you happen to suspect a Vishing Scam, report and block the number immediately

2.      You can also file an official complaint with the Federal Trade Commission

3.      Whenever you receive calls wherein the caller claims to represent any of the legitimate organization like your bank, governmental agency and so on; try contacting your actual financial authority and inform them about the incident

4.      If for any reason, you happen to have already shared your financial information, do contact your financial institution immediately and request them to block your credit or debit card immediately, in order to prevent any potential fraudulent transactions

5.      At the same time, you should update your account credentials in order to make sure that others do not use their current accounts. You can opt for freezing your credit reports

Conclusion

Vishing is definitely a malicious form of cyber attack which has the potential to incur immense damage to the victims concerned. As you seek to understand what is Vishing in Cyber Security; you should see it against the wider backdrop of a Phishing Attack which is a prominent form of cyber attack.

Being aware of different kinds of cyber attacks is crucial in securing a foothold within the domain of Cyber Security. We, at Syntax Technologies, provide you with the exciting opportunity to develop expertise in consonance with the demands of the field. Enrol now for our Cyber Security course. 

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Created on Jan 27th 2022 23:20. Viewed 456 times.

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