Have you ever heard of vishing? Do you know what they are and how much of a threat they posed to you? Chances are that you have probably been a victim of it and have not even realized it. These tips on how to avoid vishing attacks can help you find out what you need to know. Vishing, also called voice or VoIP phishing, is a new way for hackers or scammers to try and trick you. It is a tactic used electronically where individuals try to deceive you into revealing your personal or financial information to them. Although similar to phishing, it doesn’t always happen over the Internet. In most cases, it is done by scammers using voice technology.
How Vishing Is Done
Vishing attacks can be carried out in several different ways. In many cases, hackers or scammers use cellular telephones, voice mail, landlines or VoiP (voice over IP.) One of the tactics vishers use to try and trick you is by posing as someone else. One of the most exploited approaches is by pretending to be IRS agents. In fact, there were a record 898,000 people who reported being contacted by scammers pretending to be IRS agents or officials in the past year. By impersonating IRS officials, they try to trick victims into releasing personal information such as social security numbers, date of birth and other pertinent info. The maneuver has been so successful for vishers that out of 5,000 victims, they stole over $26.7 million from them.
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Vishing Tactics To Watch Out For
One of the strategies vishers use is threatening people with license revocation, police arrest, deportation and other methods. Vishers use fear and strong arm tactics to get your attention. They can do this maneuver by either calling, sending you a text or leaving a voicemail. When the latter two are done, they usually include links or numbers for you to call. The messages will contain urgent language so you can act right away. Furthermore, they will warn you about your accounts or money being in danger. Using this approach will lead you to act quickly with them over the phone. The scammers gain a lot of information from victims using social media sites, searches and numerous other ways. Keep in mind that most of these scammers are very persuasive. They are really good at making sales pitch which often sound too good to pass. In addition, they use technology that allows them to alter their phone numbers and caller ID’s. That tactic is called spoofing since they can easily disguise their true origin of the call, phone number and name. In a lot of cases, the vishers are not even located in the USA.
How To Avoid Being A Vishing Victim
There are several ways to protect yourself and avoid becoming a vishing victim. First of all, never divulge or share any sensitive information over the phone. This includes details about your credit cards, banking info or social security, etc. Keep in mind that banks will never ask you for your personal pin, passwords or other info. If you receive a text or voicemail which you are unsure of, be careful. They know most people will usually listen and respond to them. However, if you do ever receive a suspicious text or VM you are weary of, don’t answer it. Instead, be sure to check with your bank either through official websites, numbers found on credit cards or statements.
Other Tips To Consider
Other tips to consider are keeping an eye on all of your account statements each month. Be on the lookout for suspicious transactions. By doing this, you can act quickly and stop any more illegal activity from taking place using your information. Another tip to follow is making sure phone, mobile and landline are registered with the bank you use. Include your email as well. That will allow them to send you instant alerts when any suspicious transactions take place.
You should also read Is Your Cell Phone Listening To Your Conversations?
Be sure to also register your number with the donotcall.gov registry. This will keep your phone number off most National Do Not Call lists. One of the ways this helps you is that the majority of legitimate telemarketers will not break these rules. They follow the Do Not Call registry laws which means suspicious calls won’t likely be from them. Just in case, you can file a complaint with them on the website as well. If you think you have been contacted by a visher, visit ftc.gov right away to report them.
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