THERE is a prank that is gaining popularity on TikTok where people call their friends using an automated answering machine voice to tell them that a large amount of money is about to be debited from their account—according to Kaspersky experts, this trend is a real fraud scheme called vishing.
Vishing, in short for voice phishing, is the fraudulent practice of convincing individuals to call cybercriminals and reveal personal information and bank details over the phone. It is a real method actively used by cybercriminals.
In a report shared by the cybersecurity company, researchers detected an increase in the number of vishing emails in June this year (almost 100,000 total).
Kaspersky experts also highlight that in the last four months (from March to June 2022) they have detected almost 350,000 vishing emails, asking victims to call in and cancel a transaction — leading researchers to predict that this trend is only gaining momentum and is likely to continue growing.
MODUS OPERANDI
Like most phishing schemes, it starts with an unusual email telling you that they have just received a request to withdraw a large amount of money from your account.
But here's the difference.
While regular phishing emails ask the victim to follow a link, vishing emails ask that they urgently call the customer support number provided in the email.
Kaspersky experts emphasise that this method was intentionally chosen by cybercriminals because when people look at a phishing site, they have the time to think but when victims talk on the phone, they are usually distracted and find it more difficult to focus, hence, more vulnerable.
Under these circumstances, attackers do everything they can to further throw the victim off balance—rushing, intimidating and demanding that they urgently provide banking details, which then used to steal money, leaving the victim with an empty wallet.
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When people are convinced to disclose their personal data during a phone call rather than on a phishing page, they often don't have the chance to consider that they are the target of a hoax – and the large number of TikTok videos with this prank is a prominent example of this.
"I often come across videos on TikTok of bloggers pranking other people by calling them and telling them that their account is about to be debited for thousands of dollars. The victims believe it and go crazy over it," said Kaspersky security expert Roman Dedenok.
PROMINENT EXAMPLE
Curiously, TikTokers actively repeat one of the vishing schemes, with the only difference – that they do not send a fraudulent email in advance nor do they steal anything from their victims – their goal is a show, not money.
The call is conducted through an answering machine, whose voice is generated with an online translator.
Most often, pranksters introduce themselves as a representative from the customer service department, claiming they have just received an order from the victim and asking for their confirmation.
Regardless of the replies, the next thing the answering machine says is, "Thank you, your order has been confirmed".
People think the answering machine misheard them and that the funds are going to be withdrawn from their account immediately, so they panic, scream and don't realise that they are being pranked.
"When you look at these videos on your phone you think, 'How can anyone fall for such a thing?' But when people encounter scam calls in real life, they are often affected by multiple circumstances at the same time," explained Dedenok, adding that such a call can catch the victims off guard.
"[...] while their head is full of other things and they can't clearly assess who is on the other end of the call – a prankster, a fraudster or a real bank security specialist."
HOW TO AVOID FALLING FOR SCAMS
To protect yourself from falling into this trap of cybercriminals, Kaspersky recommends the following:
1. Check the sender's address. Most spam emails come from addresses that don't make sense or appear as gibberish, for example, amazondeals@tX94002222aitx2.com or something similar.
Hover over the sender's name, which itself may be spelled incorrectly. If you're NOT sure if an email address is legitimate or not, put it into a search engine to check.
2. Considering what kind of information is being requested, legitimate companies don't contact you out of the blue via unsolicited emails to ask you for personal information or other sensitive data.
In general, unsolicited messages telling you to "verify account details" or "update your account information" should be treated with caution.
3. Being wary if the message is creating a sense of urgency. Spammers often try to apply pressure by using this tactic. For example, the subject line may contain words like "urgent" or "immediate action required" to pressure you into acting.
4. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes. It is an effective way to identify a scammer. Typos and bad grammar are red flags. So too are odd phrasing or unusual syntax, which might result from the email being translated back and forth through translators several times.
5. Install a trusted security solution and following its recommendations. The secure solution will then solve most problems automatically and alert you if necessary.