Preventing Phone Scams and Vishing Attacks

Imagine This

You’re sitting down to dinner when your cell phone rings—an unknown local number. When you answer, a robotic voice intones, “Your bank account has been compromised. You must act now to protect your information.” The caller then asks you to verify your account number, adding: “This is an urgent matter.” The call feels sketchy, but you’re also worried about your account. What should you do next?

If you answered, “Just hang up,” you’re correct. Phone scams like this one can cost their victims time, money, and even their identity. Sometimes called “vishing,” phone scams can also create entry points to more sophisticated hacking operations that can devastate individuals and organizations.

From claiming you’ve won a prize to posing as a government agency to raising money for “charity,” there’s no shortage of creative phone scams designed to steal your money and information. The good news is that you can learn to spot a phone scam before falling prey to it. In this lesson, you’ll learn what vishing attacks are and why people fall for them. You’ll also see examples of common phone scams so you can recognize and stop a phone scammer in their tracks.