Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Vishing: Phishing by VOIP Phone

It’s been reported that:

Reports from Internet security experts indicate that there has been a recent rise in VoIP phishing (also known as vishing) scams. These scams have been taking place since at least 2006 but since VoIP use has grown steadily since last year there are a lot of new users who aren’t aware of the issue. The most common scenario is for a scammer to place a call to your VoIP phone with an automated recording warning that there’s a problem with your credit card and asking you to call back; when you do, you’re asked to input your credit card information into the system which then gives the scammer everything that’s necessary to steal your identity. Identity theft now often takes place in a three-prong attack which includes email, text message and voice phishing. If you don’t already realize it, you shouldn’t give out your personal information to just anyone who asks.

I recently was subjected to an especially brazen vishing attempt. Some guy called me at work, claiming to be from my bank, with an offer of a free gas card provided I gave him my credit card # to process a $1 service charge. Putz.

Never give your credit card or other personal information out over the phone!