Vishing Scam Seeks to Steal Your Banking Information

January 27, 2017

Some law enforcement organizations are warning about a vishing scam that way too many people are falling for. Criminals are calling people and attempt to trick them out of their banking information by claiming there are suspected unauthorized transactions being made in international locations with their account.

Vishing is a form of phishing where scammers use the telephone to perform their scams. In this one, the caller asks the victims to confirm the bank details. However, it’s important to remember that financial institutions won’t call you and ask for that information.

If you ever receive such a call, just hang up. Contact your financial institution separately. Either check your account online using a previously bookmarked link or other link you know is safe or look up their phone number separately and call them. Don’t return calls to anyone that asks you for your account details over the phone using a number they provide or an email address they give you. Those numbers and messages go right back to scammers. Call the number on your card to ensure you are calling your financial institution.

The calls may appear to come from local numbers, but caller ID information is easily faked. The real phone number from a scammer will likely be initiated from overseas. So if you have doubts about your payment card charges, go to your statement and check them. If anything looks suspicious, contact your card issuer and get it resolved right away. Liability for fraudulent charges is limited in the United States, but you do need to report the charges within a reasonable amount of time. Losses due to fraud are expected to exceed $35.5 billion in 2020, according to a Nilson Report on global fraud losses. Total global losses have already exceeded $16 billion and those are not likely going to decrease any time soon.

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