phone scammers they ripped off Americans out of $29.8 billion last year. And since the pandemic began, they have become increasingly sophisticated, say the reports that reach us from the other side of the pond.
A large number of its victims are professionals between the ages of 18 and 44., rather than supposedly vulnerable older people, they report. Yes, the usual thing is not to scam your grandfather anymore, but to you who are reading this article right now.
While some bogus calls are easy to hang up and reject—such as those about an expired car warranty, bad student loans, or Nigerian kings—they’re increasingly difficult to discern.
Experts say these criminals are becoming more sophisticated and are using mind control tactics to keep you on the phone longer and do what they ask. These scams, known as vishing or phone phishing, appear to be a long way from over.
And it is that telephone scams are one of the most common types of fraud in the world today. Criminals use clever tactics to get their victims to inadvertently hand over money or valuable personal information.
These scammers take advantage of people’s lack of knowledge about the methods they use to trick them. In this report, we’ll explore three ways scammers and hackers trick their victims over the phone.
How phone scammers trick us
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Identity forgery
The first tactic used by phone scammers is identity forgery. This involves impersonating a trusted person or entity to gain the victim’s trust and obtain personal or financial information.
A common example of this tactic is when a scammer poses as a representative of a bank or credit card company and asks for personal information such as account numbers, social security numbers, or passwords. Once the scammer has this information, they can use it to commit fraud or identity theft.
To protect yourself from spoofing, it’s important to be skeptical of unexpected calls and don’t provide personal information unless you’re sure the caller is legitimate. It’s always a good idea to call the business in question using a verified phone number before providing any personal information.
Besides, if the caller refuses to provide contact information or is unwilling to wait while you call the business in questionit is probably a scam and you should hang up immediately.
The scam of “spoofing”
Spoofing scam is a deception technique in which a criminal pretends to be someone elsecompany or legitimate entity in order to obtain confidential information or money from the victim.
The term “spoofing” refers to the practice of falsifying identifying information, such as name, email address, phone number, or IP address, in order to trick the victim into thinking the communication is legitimate. .
For example, the scammer could spoof a bank’s email address and send an email to a customer posing as the bank and asking for sensitive information, such as an account number or password.
O well, an attacker could spoof a friend or family member’s phone number and impersonate them to request money or personal information.
The spoofing scam can be carried out through different means of communication, such as email, phone calls, text messages or instant messages. Attackers often use social engineering techniques to trick the victim.
To protect yourself from the spoofing scam, it is important to verify the identity of the person or entity requesting information or money by using inside information and avoiding providing confidential information or conducting financial transactions without verifying the authenticity of the communication.
Tech support scam
Tech support scam is a type of fraud in which scammers pose as support technicians from a reputable company, such as Microsoft or Appleand contact victims by phone, email or pop-up message, claiming that there is a problem with their computer or smartphone.
Scammers use various tactics to trick victims and make them believe there is a problem with their computers, such as displaying fake error messages, playing alert sounds, and sending emails that appear to be from the legitimate company.
Then they ask the victims to share control of your computer or provide them with personal and financial informationsuch as passwords, credit card numbers or bank accounts, under the pretext of solving the supposed problem.
Once scammers gain access to a victim’s computer or personal information, they can install malware, steal financial information, or even drain victims’ bank accounts.
It’s important to put attention on companies never contact customers in this way to solve a technical problem, and they never ask for personal or financial information through pop-up messages or surprise emails. If you receive such a call or message, do not share personal or financial information.
