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Vishing latest threat
2006-11-03
Vishing is the name given to the use of Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls to obtain credit card information from unsuspecting consumers.
The old technology threat, Phishing, involved sending an e-mail to people who pretended to be from a bank or online merchant asking the person who received the e-mail to click on a link and verify account information.
Although criminals are still using this technique, most people now understand the threat and fewer people are falling victim to Phishing scams.
Using VoIP technology, criminals are now relying on the trust people place in telephone messages to extract the information needed to steal money or buy goods.
One key element to Vishing attacks is the ability of VoIP technology systems to recognize telephone keystrokes.
A Vishing attack might happen like this:
- The person receiving a call is told by a recorded voice that their credit card information has been compromised and to call the identified number immediately.
- When the person calls that number another recorded message would identify the service as the account verification service and request the caller enter their 16-digit account number.
The person has now become a victim of the scam.
Two other important technology components aid in the execution of these types of scams.
The first is the ability of callers to spoof the caller ID function of the entity they want people to think is contacting them.
VoIP providers such as Skype permit customers to pick not only the area code they want but also the prefix to the phone number (if numbers are still available in that range).
Criminals are able to pick the area code and prefix of the location of the financial institution they are claiming to be.
The second capability is software applications and related hardware that perform what is known as "war dialing."
War dialing is the telephone equivalent of mass mailing or sending out an e-mail blast.
Large numbers of telephone calls can be made by this technology, allowing criminals to make hundreds and thousands of telephone calls in a short period of time.
The hope of the Vishing scammers is that people will think a phone message is more credible that an e-mail request to provide credit card or account information.
Although only a few Vishing scams have been reported, it would appear criminals are at least in the experimental stage and are learning how best to combine VoIP technology with social engineering techniques to gain maximum return on their exploits.
As with Phishing scams and other exploits attempting to defraud people, creating awareness and educating consumers will be important to minimizing the losses due to Vishing attacks.
Phonebusters, the Canadian antifraud call centre (www.phonebusters.com) has information on phone frauds, statistics relating to the number and amount of annual losses as well as contact information if anyone needs to report a Vishing incident.
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