Your business may be well-armed against email-based phishing scams, but you shouldn’t neglect your VoIP system. Through ‘vishing scams,’ hackers can disguise themselves as bank representatives. They can convince your employees to provide confidential financial details via a seemingly harmless VoIP call. Your business will be well-served by guarding itself against this new breed of phishing scam.
VoIP makes it easy to create fake numbers
The rise of vishing scams is due to the ease by which cyber criminals can hide their tracks online. They can pull off scams with minimal risk of detection.
Using a fake number, they can call one of your employees and pretend to be someone of authority. They can ask for sensitive business information, and get away with it. Scammers can also manipulate local numbers to emulate multinational banks.
VoIP is easy to set up and difficult to track
Cyber criminals don’t have to be geniuses to configure VoIP deployments, make phone calls, and run away with your money and data. They only need to know the basics of a VoIP setup.
VoIP hardware such as IP-PBXs, IP phones, and routers have become affordable and more accessible. Hackers can conveniently connect this equipment to PCs to record phone calls. From there, they can easily steal data.
Also, fake numbers are difficult to track because they can be destroyed instantly. And with advanced voice-changing software widely available, 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 tamper the caller ID. They can trick users into thinking that they’re talking to a tech support staff, a PayPal representative, or a fraud investigator.
VoIP scamming is cost-efficient
Traditional phones are still used for phishing scams, but they don’t compare to the efficiency VoIP affords. The latter allows attackers to target victims all over the globe at a fraction of the cost.
Cyber criminals are resorting to VoIP scamming due to its cost-efficiency. Vishing scammers are sneaky and resourceful. They will exhaust all possible means to attack your systems for profit — that includes your VoIP channels.
Protecting yourself is simple
To protect against VoIP-based scams, set stringent policies on information-sharing in your company. Impose strict security processes for all business communications. Protect your company against all types of scams by getting in touch with our experts today.