Phishing Attacks on the Phone

Phishing attacks are becoming ever more prevalent. While most people are aware of phishing attacks on the computer few people realize that they can also happen over the phone.

What Is A Phishing Attack?

A phishing attack is a type of scam where the scammers try to get hold of your personal details by misleading you. These scammers are very clever and can use sophisticated scams to con you into giving them your details.

The details which are commonly stolen include credit card numbers, bank account details and even your identity. Phishing makes it possible for you to suffer from identity theft.

Phishing On The Phone

Phishing attacks are also fairly common on the phone. These may be less common than internet attacks but they are still an issue. These are where someone phones you up and tries to trick you into giving up some of your personal details.

Someone may phone you up and claim to be from the bank. They will commonly tell you that your account is at risk of being stolen unless you verify some of your details. These scams are often very believable and they will make you believe that it is important to verify your account as quickly as possible.

Phone phishing can be even more dangerous than internet phishing because people aren't expecting it to happen.

Protecting Yourself From Phishing

You need to protect yourself against phishing whether it's on the phone or on the internet. The best way of doing this is to use your common sense. You need to be willing to listen to your gut instinct so that you can decide whether or not it's safe. If you are at all in doubt then just say that you're busy and that you will phone them back.

It's very difficult to detect phishing phone calls. Many banks are using cheap phone operators to field calls in India and other foreign countries. This means that just because the English is poor it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a phishing attack. If you suspect any phishing attack then you must report it to your bank as soon as possible.

Caller ID can also help to deter phishing attacks as you can find out exactly who is calling. Of course, sometimes this information can be falsified but that is fairly rare.

Your bank should know about you and should only have to ask you questions to verify your identity. You should not have to tell them everything every time. Be careful and protect yourself from phishing so that it doesn't end up ruining your credit report.

 

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In 2003, more than 10 million Americans fell victim to identity theft.

Identity theft costs business and individuals $53 billion dollars annually

In 2003, Americans spent 300 million hours resolving issues related to identity theft.

70% of all identity theft cases are perpetrated by a co-worker or employee of an affiliated business.