Telephone Approaches (Voice phishing)


Phishing

What is Voice phishing?

Some people are receiving unsolicited phone calls pretending to be from the bank or even the police. Often they will encourage you to part with security information as part of an ongoing investigation into potential fraud, or claiming that they need to verify security information following a recent transaction.

Sometimes you might get a "warm-up call" where no information is discussed, but your guard is lowered when you get a subsequent call, which refers back to the initial seemingly innocent call you received.

Example :

Call 1 - "You recently made a card transaction and we wanted to check your customer experience - you'll be entered into a prize draw - I just need characters 2 and 4 of your four digit card PIN for security".

Call2 - "You recently took part in our telephone survey - we'd now like to get your views on our online banking service - we need to verify your security information to ensure the right customer goes into our prize draw - could I have characters 1 and 3 of your card PIN"?"

What can I do?

Do not give any security information away during a telephone call you have not initiated.

Ask for a contact number for you to call back, but always verify this number independently before phoning back, for example by contacting your branch to confirm the number is valid.