A new kind of identity theft scam — with thieves using easy-to-obtain VoIP telephone numbers to trick Internet or telephone users — is beginning to pop up, says a cybersecurity vendor.
Related to phishing scams, the new scheme uses cheaply obtained VoIP numbers as bogus credit card or financial services companies’ telephone numbers, says Paul Henry, vice president of strategic accounts for Secure Computing. The company has observed only two such scams so far, but it expects the practice to “explode,” Henry says.
With Internet users being warned about clicking on hyperlinks in unsolicited e-mail, the new scam includes a phone number instead, Henry says. “It’s a natural elevation of the art to move it to the telephone,” he says. “People are getting nervous about clicking on links.”
In phishing scams, identity thieves send e-mail that looks like it comes from a bank, credit card company or online payment service such as PayPal. The e-mail typically says the recipient’s account has been compromised in some way, and it contains a link to an official-looking Web site where the recipient can enter account information.
In the new scam, which Secure Computing calls “vishing,” identity thieves ask potential victims to call a phone number attached to a VoIP account, easily obtained online through services such as Skype or through retailers such as Vonage that resell VoIP products, Henry says.
In one vishing case, scammers targeted PayPal users by including a telephone number in a spam e-mail. In the other case, the criminals configured an automatic telephone dialer to dial phone numbers; when the phone was answered, the dialer played an automated recording saying the telephone customer’s credit card had fraudulent activity and asking the customer to call a number with a spoofed caller ID related to the credit card issuer, Secure Computing says. Once users called, they were asked for personal account information.
VoIP numbers are easy to obtain anonymously, but Henry doesn’t fault VoIP providers for vishing scams. A larger problem is the ease of obtaining credit online or over the telephone, he says.
Consumers are comfortable with obtaining credit online or by dialing automated telephone services, but if credit-granting businesses required physical contact, phishing and vishing scams would be almost eliminated, he adds.
“In today’s environment, it’s absurd,” Henry says.
To avoid vishing scams, Secure Computing offers this advice:
1. Credit card companies normally refer to customers by their full names in any communication. If an e-mail or phone call does not refer to your full name, it may be a scam.
2. You should not call a telephone number provided in a phone call or an e-mail regarding possible security issues with any credit card or bank account. You should call the phone number on the back of your credit card or on your bank statement to report security concerns.
3. If anyone purporting to be a credit card provider calls and requests your card number, hang up and call the phone number on the back of your credit card and report the attempt. If the call was legitimate, the credit card provider will have knowledge of it.
