What Is Vishing?

 
Expanding your business and the growth of your company means you will use more technology and tools to assist with your goals. The problem is that scam artists and hackers may notice your business and attempt to harm your plans by attacking you or your company. By understanding the risks associated with vishing attacks, you will have the ability to protect your business from potential threats.
What is a Vishing Scam?
Vishing refers to fraud or phishing that occurs over your phone. It may also be called phone fraud or voice phishing. The goal of the scam is to convince you to provide information to the scam artist that they can use to take money out of your bank account or your company account.
How the Vishing Scam Works
A vishing scam is a simple scam. The scam artist pretends he or she is a representative from your bank or another company. They ask for personal information, like your social security number, an employer identification number, or details about your family. They may use common security questions as part of the process.
After you give them the information they request, they use the data to gain access to your personal accounts or business accounts. In some cases, they do not contact you. They may attempt to gather information or obtain access to your accounts by connecting directly to a company or bank.
Bank-Related Risks
Banks and other businesses take measures to limit the risk of vishing. Unfortunately, a scam artist can use the information they gather about you to gain access to your accounts by fooling a representative or operator at your bank. For example, they may use information on your social media account to convince the representative that they are you and then convince the individual to give them a temporary password or access to your bank accounts
In this situation, you want to inform your bank of the problem as soon as you notice unauthorized access to your account. You also want to use uncommon security questions or ask the bank to provide additional security features to limit the risk of others gaining access to your account through vishing.
Personal Risks
Although scam artists may impersonate you, a common vishing risk is a personal attack. They may call your cell phone or your house phone and pose as a legitimate company. For example, the scam artist may pose as a representative of your bank and pretend that they noticed suspicious activity on your account. They use the excuse to ask security questions or find out more information about you. They may also pose as the IRS, police, or other authority figures. Keep in mind that vishing may also focus on gaining access to your personal or company computers. A scam artist may pose as technical support or your Internet service provider to gain access to your computer.
Preventing the Attack
Taking measures to prevent vishing attacks will help prevent financial losses or the loss of data in your business. When you receive a call from an unknown number or a representative of a company contacts you for any reason, ask questions. Ask for the name of the person and the name of the company. Find out why they are calling your personal or business phone number. Ask for the person to give you a phone number to call them back and the extension of their number if you call the company’s customer service number.
Hang up the phone and look at the company. Call the company back through their customer service phone number and ask for the individual who called you. You can also explain that you were called and find out if the call was legitimate. Do not give any personal or account information to the original caller.
A key reason that you may face vishing attacks is a change to your technology or adding new software or programs to your existing system. The mix of old and new technology without proper security measures may result in a breach or a loss of data. By working with an award-winning IT company in South Florida, you are able to limit the risks by ensuring proper integration of new software or technology. We also help you recognize security risks and take measures to limit your risks by providing proper security measures.
Protecting your business and personal finances starts with protecting your data. You do not want to take undue risks by giving away information over the phone or allowing a security breach in your technology. By working with our team of experienced IT professionals, you will have the skills to prevent a data breach due to vishing or related phishing risks.