What You Need to Know about a Vishing Attack

You might not know this, but vishing is a short for ‘voice phishing’ which entails defrauding people over the phone, luring them to divulge sensitive information for your personal gains. Actually, the attacker simply tries to grab the victim’s data and use it for their own benefit. In most cases, it entails gaining a financial advantage without the knowing.

Keep in mind that a vishing attack tends to have the same end goal as many kinds of cyberattacks you might have dealt with in the past. In a digitized business and financial environment, all that stands between a criminal and the money of victims is access to vital credentials, credit card numbers, or personal data that can be later leveraged to execute identity theft.

You might be wondering what the difference between vishing and phishing is. While vishing, phishing, and smashing are all cyberattacks with similar end objectives, they do use different techniques. Actually, it’s worth noting that vishing is performed over the phone using a voice call.

This can take place between a landline, cellular network, or a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system. In this quick guide on phishing, we will let you know about the different kinds of phishing techniques criminals use. Keep reading to uncover more!

Why are Vishing Attacks Performed?

Among the main reasons why vishing attacks are performed is the sheer fact that scammers want to gain access to sensitive financial information or the personal data of the person who answers the phone. When interacting with someone face-to-face, physical, visible credentials can be presented, such as identity badged, access cards, or even driver’s licenses.

How to Identify a Vishing Attack

Identifying a vishing attack doesn’t have to be stressful as it sounds in the first place. And this is easy to see considering a vishing attack often hinges on creating a sense of panic or otherwise applying pressure on the victim. This can include offered of a time-sensitive nature or those that offer a solution to a dire problem.

In the event that you suffer from a vishing attack, it is highly recommended that you avoid picking up the phone. If you notice a suspicious numbers, be sure to let it go to voicemail. You can always verify its importance by checking your messages. Of course, there are other things you can do to prevent vishing attack.