Fighting malware and spam

Vishing

Web phone call scam conning victims out of money

Phishing over VoIP (Voice Over IP, or Internet Telephony) is a scam attempting to gather sensitive personal information, such as bank account details, using VoIP to contact victims.

While telephone scams are nothing new, the advent of VoIP allowing cheap (and in the case of hacked VoIP accounts, free) international calling has meant this type of scam has bloomed in recent years. The basic tactics are the same as email phishing - the victim is tricked into giving away their details using some form of social engineering, often a warning of a security breach in a banking system, or the offer of a prize.

VoIP is often used as a part of email or IM phishing, with phone numbers sent out to quell suspicions of transactions carried via email.

Related news articles

Vish implanted in phishing warning

Doctored bank alert includes phony phone number.

21 February 2008

US agencies report vishing, extortion, danger of hacking

FBI name used in email attacks, CIA warns of power supply hacks.

21 January 2008

  see all related news stories

Poll

VB100 certification