Watch Out for Vishing Scams

By now you’ve probably heard of phishing sites, those criminally run websites that masquerade as reputable financial institutions in a bid to obtain your sensitive account information.

Well now there’s a new danger, referred to as “vishing”, or voice phishing, which relies upon a standard telephone to steal your sensitive credit card and banking information.

Instead of using a phony website to commit the crime, these fraudsters instruct unsuspecting consumers to call a phone number, which will then ask them to enter sensitive account details.

Some of the scams are executed via e-mail, displaying a phone number of your banking institution which you must call to supposedly reactivate your credit card.

Others are done entirely by phone, with fraudsters contacting you to get one last important piece of information, such as your CVV2 number.

These fraudsters already have most of your information, and will just call to get the last few pieces to make the scam complete.

Many of these operations are so well orchestrated that the incoming number on your caller ID will actually display as if it’s from a real banking institution, thanks to tricky voice-over-IP technology.

So always take caution if you receive any e-mails or phone calls from any of your banking institutions.

As a rule of thumb, be suspicious of any bank or lending institution that contacts you, as it typically works the other way around.

Think about it, how often do banks actually ask you for your account information when you receive an incoming call?

Not many. They typically only ask for information if you call them to discuss something in particular on your account.

So if in doubt, don’t share your information and double-check phone numbers on the bank’s website or via 411 to be sure you’re actually dealing with the right people.