Phishing Scams Evolve

Month Date, 2006:A new form of Phishing known as ‘Vishing’ has been revealed as the latest scam to target the internet

According to an article on voip.com, Vishing uses voip to extend the range of phishing scams. Victims are contacted by phone or e-mail and asked to confirm personal information by calling a fraudulent customer service number. Once there, an automated system records their account number and password, giving swindlers access to their bank or credit card accounts.

Similar warnings to those raised by voip.com were voiced by New Zealand security vendor Secure Computing earlier this month. “Consumers need to be extra vigilant when giving out their information on the phone”, says Eric Sorenson, Secure Computing senior sales engineer for New Zealand and Australia.

Vishers have dropped links in favor of phone numbers according to the article. Using spoofed e-mail headers and camouflaged Caller ID information to make requests appear legitimate, con artists have managed to fool customers of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust in the US, as well as PayPal members. Victims report receiving either an e-mail that appeared to originate from their institution, or a phone call claiming that their account had experienced fraudulent activity and required immediate attention. When consumers called the supplied number, an automated system, much like legitimate customer service systems, instructed the unsuspecting victims to enter their account number in order to be connected to a customer service representative.

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