“Vishing” Attacks on the Rise

By Greg McNevin

January 23, 2008: The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued a warning on the dangers of “vishing”, similar to phishing, claiming that instances of the scam are increasing at an unnerving rate.

Vishing is similar to phishing as it begins with a baited email hook, however, rather than directing unsuspecting users to malicious websites or coercing them to open dangerous attachments, vishers request their quarry to call a specific company directly to resolve a problem or “confirm” their identity.

From here an answering machine (or even a real call centre operative in more sophisticated operations) will ask the caller to verify their identity by asking for the same kind of personal details a phishing email attempts to collect.

So far these attacks are focussing on US financial institutions, but as the tactic is sure to spread a healthy dose of scepticism and common sense should be one’s frontline defence.

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