Cyber Aware Top Tip #6 – Voice Phishing

What is voice phishing (vishing)? It’s very similar to email phishing, except this scam takes place over the phone.

Voice phishing is the most human of social engineering scams, making it all more believable. Have you seen the advert by Barclays? This is a perfect example of how fraudsters can use simple conversational elements which we’re used to hearing from
trusted establishments and take advantage of that trust.

Often the call will be made on a fake ID which is made up to look like it’s coming from a familiar or trustworthy source. Once they have a hold of your personal information like login details & passwords, they can use those details to drain your bank account or commit identity fraud.

For example, you may get a call from a number that looks like a bank saying:

“Your account has been suspended, please call this number to discuss.”

At this point the criminal is hoping that you’ll panic and call the number. Usually you’ll hear a recorded message asking for sensitive information like your bank account numbers. Because of the context of this, it makes it so much more believable and you’re more likely to give out that information without knowing the negative effects.

There are lots of scams that use voice phishing including:
• Offers for credit & loans
• Over the top investment opportunities
• Charity requests for urgent causes

Hopefully, this guide has helped you become more cyber aware, if you would like to keep a visual reminder of Tony Tec advice for your employees, check out the link below.

Download your poster now

We have created posters to help keep your workforce educated, click here to download the one about voice phishing. We recommend this is printed on A3 in full colour and displayed across the workplace. If you would like a complete set of the posters delivered by Royal mail please fill out the contact form here and use the subject POSTERS.