Phishing through VoIP: How scammers do it

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) makes business communications simple and inexpensive. However, scammers are still finding ways to exploit VoIP, such as through “vishing scams, a new type of phishing wherein fraudsters make phone calls, pose as a business or financial partner, and request private details. The best way to prevent yourself from being scammed is by understanding how the scam works.

VoIP makes it easy to create fake numbers

One of the main reasons vishing scams are increasing in frequency is the ease by which cybercriminals can hide their tracks and escape with minimal risk of detection.

Using a fake number, scammers can contact your employees, pretend to be a representative of a bank or government agency, ask for sensitive information — such as salary information, account numbers, and company intellectual property — and get away with it. Scammers can also manipulate local numbers to emulate multinational banks, which they will then use for various VoIP scams.

VoIP is easy to set up and difficult to track

It isn’t very difficult to configure a VoIP system, and this makes fraudulent phone calls or messages an easy thing to accomplish. Scammers only need to know the basics of a VoIP setup.

VoIP hardware such as IP-PBXs, IP phones, and routers are also inexpensive and quite easy to access. Hackers can conveniently connect these equipment to PCs for the purposes of recording phone calls and stealing information from conversations.

Also, fake numbers are difficult to track because they can be ditched at any time. And with advanced voice-changing software widely available nowadays, a vishing scam is much easier to pull off.

Caller ID can be tampered with

In some vishing scams, attackers don’t even have to destroy a number to cover their tracks. Instead, they can trick users into thinking that they’re talking to a legitimate Microsoft technical support staff, a PayPal representative, or a fraud investigator, simply by tampering with the caller ID.

VoIP scamming is cost-efficient

Traditional phones are still used for phishing scams, but they don’t compare to the efficiency VoIP affords, which allows attackers to target victims all over the globe at a fraction of the cost. Cybercriminals resort to VoIP scamming because the price per call is much lower. Vishing scammers are sneaky and resourceful, and they will exhaust all possible means to attack your systems for profit — and that includes your VoIP channels.

Protecting yourself is simple

To protect against VoIP-based scams, set stringent policies on information-sharing and impose strict security processes for all business communications. Informed and aware employees are key to making sure that scammers are held at bay. Protect your company against all types of scams by getting in touch with our experts today.