Business Security Information

Vishing

Basically a form of social engineering where the criminal uses the telephone network to scam people.  The criminal uses this technique to get information or money from those they contact by pretending to be a legitimate business, usually using a technique called “Caller ID Spoofing.”  The term vishing comes from the two words voice and phishing.  You can read more about phishing in a previous article I wrote.

Vishing attacks are currently being used to steal credit card numbers, personal information or to sell bogus products.  Vishing attacks are also being combined with phishing, which is an e-mailed type scam.

Caller ID Spoofing

A technique that makes the phone call appear to be coming from a different phone number than where the phone call is actual coming from.  In vishing attacks, the call may appear to be coming from your bank when in reality it may be coming from a system in a different state or country.  Basically, caller ID spoofing allows the caller to pretend to be someone else.  The use of VOIP (Voice Over IP) has made it simple for most people to falsify the number they are calling from.

Related posts:

1. VOIP Phishing Scam
2. Smishing
3. Are You Using VOIP — Is It Secure?