Vishing is one of the fashionable scams that particularly affects the elderly. Find out why and what it consists of in this article.
With new technologies becoming a complete part of our lives, scams related to the digital world are becoming more common. That’s why it’s important to be aware of the new types of scams that are trending so you can spot them and avoid falling victim.
One scam that stands out above the rest today is vishing. If you still don’t know what it is, keep reading. Next, we will tell you the characteristics of this type of deception and how to avoid it.
Vishing: Definition
As we have said, the most important thing to avoid being a victim of a scam is to know the most common methods, as these are changing.
Vishing seems to be a widely use method in recent years. What is vishing? Well, they are scams through phone calls or voice messages. The objective of these calls or messages may be both to obtain personal data and sensitive information from the victim, as well as the transfer of large amounts of money.
Despite the fact that using phone calls or voice messages may require extra effort on the part of scammers, the truth is that it is a method that tends to inspire more confidence in potential victims, so the chances of success are low.
In fact, it is also known as voice phishing: voice (voice, either human or a robot) and phishing. Phishing is another of the dangers that you can find on the Internet. It is mostly carry out via fraudulent links in both email and SMS messages. By clicking on these links, the victim is direct to a fake web page (of a supermarket or a bank, for example) and is asked for their details and account number. Vishing does all of this, but over the phone.
What are the characteristics of vishing
The main characteristic of voice phishing or vishing is that it is carry out through a phone call or a voice message. In this call or message, on many occasions, the scammer pretends to be a company or an entity that the potential victim trusts. In fact, telephone listings with specific prefixes are often use to impersonate local or regional entities. This way, everything looks much more convincing to the victim.
The objective of this call or message is usually to convince the victim to do something that is against their interests (reveal personal data or transfer money). Often these calls are related to internet safety or financial issues.
Common examples of scam calls
These per-call scams usually focus on some specific topics or follow certain patterns. With them, they can scam you out of money or simply obtain your personal data to be able to impersonate your identity to carry out other scams.
Digital security
Often the scammer claims to be calling from a computer security company trying to sell some product. It manipulates the victim to allow them to access their computer remotely (to check the computer, for example) and then takes the opportunity to steal sensitive information such as addresses and bank accounts.
Police, banks
Sometimes, the scammer can pose as an entity that the victim trusts, such as the police or their bank. With the excuse of trying to solve a supposed error, such as a false charge in the bank account, the fraudster gets hold of the necessary information to later be able to extract money from the account.
Known in trouble
These cases are well known. The scammer pretends to be a friend or someone close to the victim, tells them that they are in trouble or in danger and need money. In these types of calls, the emotional manipulation that the scammer exerts on the victim is important, added to the need for it to be something quick. Then the victim feels overwhelmed with concern and agrees to transfer the requested amount of money.
Basic supply companies
In this case, there is no scammer posing as a company, but sometimes the same companies can call you to offer you an offer, ask for your information and request to change companies without your consent.
Awards
Beware of the typical calls in which you are informed that you have won a magnificent prize without even having participated. It is possible that they end up asking for your information and through them they can charge your bank account.
Calls to a special rate number
It does not have to be a scam in itself, but be careful with the special rate numbers (starting at 118, 803, 806, 807, 905…) in which they will charge you up to more than 5 euros per minute of call.
Who are the victims of vishing
Since we all have a landline or mobile phone, we are all potential victims of this type of scam. However, it is true that older people seem to be the ones who are most harmed by these scams.
The fact that it is carried out through a phone call makes them trust that they are actually receiving personalized attention, which is so scarce in the digital age, so they end up sharing their data much more easily.
Deep vishing
Deep vishing is a form of voice phishing in which artificial intelligence joins. The objective is to be able to imitate the voice of someone known to the victim (a friend, a boss…) and make it even more credible. In this way it will be easier for the person in question to agree to make money transfers or reveal personal data.
How to report a vishing attack
If you have been a victim of these scams, you can report it to the national police. The Municipal Consumer Information Office will be able to advise you on how to act in these cases and what type of data or documentation you must provide to file a complaint. If you have risk insurance on the network, the company can also advise you and it is a good way to recover the amount scammed.
In addition, it is important to inform the relevant agencies to prevent other people from falling for the same scam. To do this, you can report cases of phishing by voice at the Security Incident Response Center of the National Institute of Cybersecurity.
How to avoid fraudulent calls
To avoid being a victim of these types of calls, you can follow the following tips:
- Never give out personal information over the phone unless you are 100% sure who you are talking to.
- To do this, always contact companies and entities using official numbers.
- Be wary of unknown numbers, hidden numbers, calls with tempting offers, or automated calls in which a robot answers you.
- Finally, spam call-blocking apps or services can be very helpful in reducing the number of spam calls you may receive.
Apart from this, if you are interested to know about Information Technology Industry then visit our Technology category.
