What is vishing?

Vishing is a specific form of Social Engineering, more especially a phishing attack made over the phone. Like with phishing, the victim is urged to share some confidential information because of a fake excuse created by the hacker.

Skilled scammers/hackers have everything in place to sound legitimate:

• Right information: they already have your name, address, phone number, and bank details. In fact, all the information you would expect a genuine caller to have.
• Urgency: You are made to believe your money is in danger and that you have to act quickly. Fear often leads people to act without thinking.
• Phone skills: The phone number appears as if it’s coming from somewhere else (i.e. spoofing). So, you pick up the phone already believing the caller as the number seems convincing.
• Business atmosphere:  You hear a lot of background noise, so it sounds like a call center rather than a guy in a basement. The scammers either do have a call center or are playing sound effects. Everything is done to make it sound legitimate.

Consequently, if the victim falls for the scam and provides personal information, they mostly end up becoming a victim of identity theft.

Do you want to learn how to spot a vishing attack and how to protect yourself? Follow our lead!