As the holidays approach, a new type of malicious email is landing in inboxes. These fresh attacks—“vishing,” short for “voice phishing”—direct recipients to call a certain number and claim a refund or reimbursement. The supposed call center, though, will be staffed by hackers whose goal is to pilfer bank account or credit card details.
It might seem difficult for cybercriminals to pull off such a brazen stunt, but even if just one of these scams is successful out of 100, the financial payout makes it worth the effort attackers put into it. Vishing increases as online shopping increases, too, with common strategies that include fake Amazon refund requests and so-called banking alerts notifying users of high-priced purchases.
