People can hide their identity thanks to the current technological advances in the ways of people and means. Today, phone calls have become one of the primary means by a fraud to people. Vishing attacks include all of them which are pure emotional fraud instilling fear or excitement in a subject so that the judgment is clouded. This has also made these fraudsters very clever, yet they usually follow a certain pattern. It can considerably differentiate between safety and loss of personal information or hard-earned money when you see the red flags.
Urgency
Most of the time, they claim that there is an emergency: warrant for your arrest, or taxes troubles, or compromised bank accounts. They tell you that actions must be immediately “right now” or “within the hour.” This kind of pressure is supposed to tighten your stomach enough to panic you into not taking the time to validate their tale.
Speaking Unusual Payment Methods
Any bona fide business or governmental agency will never request payment of a debt through the use of gift cards (such as iTunes or Amazon), through any sort of cryptocurrency, or wire transfers through Western Union or other similar services.
The Most Important Data for “Verification”
It sounds very official when someone calls asking you to “verify” your Social Security number, birth date, or bank password. They should know who you are if they called you. A real bank will never ask for you to call and ask for your complete password or your number. Hang up if they ask you to confirm your account by providing sensitive data through phone communication.
Spoofed Caller ID
Sophisticated software is being used to create a caller ID that shows a known name, such as “Internal Revenue Service,” local police department, or your own bank’s official number. This is called “spoofing.” Just because the name on the screen looks official does not mean the person on the other end is who they claim to be.
Threats of Legal Action or Jail Time
Legal threats as to immediate arrests over the phone are never emanating from legitimate organizations. It is pure fraud if a government official says you will go to jail if you don’t pay a fine immediately. Real government agencies communicate through official mail and follow a long legal process.
Promises That Are Too Good to Be True
The catch is that these “prizes” usually come with some kind of “small processing fee” or request for your financial information to “deposit the winnings.” Do not believe him when the caller says you have won a lottery you never entered, a free vacation at a fancy resort, or a massive cut in your credit card interest rate. If it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
Poor Audio Quality or Odd Delays
Most of the online scam call centers are international call centers. There is a second delay between when you speak and a person would hear you- or very noisy- everybody seems to be talking. Not every international call is a scam, but the bad audio quality with the solicitations for cash is huge.
They Ask You Not to Hang Up or Talk to Others
Scammers want you to be very isolated. Don’t hang up. Or this is something that you shouldn’t bring up with your family or bank tellers. They’re doing this because they know that if you talk to an intelligent friend or professional, you may be a little suspicious.
You Are Asked to Download an App
A really new form of cheating is asking victims to download “remote access” software such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, so that they can “help fix a problem” with the victim’s computer or phone. The victim downloads the application and offers the code to the hacker and now has total control over the device; they can now see a person’s bank logins, photos, and private messages.
