Below is a sample Phishing e-mail:

Phishing e-mail smaple

Millions of innocent victims have received these emails and clicked the links. They are then taken to a website, which is a clone of the original banking institution, where they complete their personal identifiable information on a page. What these victims do not know is that their information is then forwarded to fraudsters.

Governments from around the world spent millions of Dollars in educating people in this scam. Fraudsters have now started implementing a countermeasure scam, known as ‘Vishing’ or simply Phishing by Phone.

How fraudsters operate

Fraudsters of this scam still compile a misleading emails informing victims that they bank account will be closed if they do not confirm certain personal identifiable information. In these e-mails there are no more links victims are requested to click on. Instead of hyperlinks, fraudsters now provide a telephone number that must be called.

Below is a sample of a Vishing scam e-mail:

Vishing scam sample

These e-mails are then distributed to thousands of victims from around the world. 

Again, fraudsters will man the telephone lines and obtain personal identifiable information from unsuspecting victims.

Protecting oneself from these scams

As with all consumer scams, it is highly advised that such type of e-mails are deleted without responding to them.

When requested to contact you bank, never make use of the phone number provided in the e-mail. Always make use of the number you know or a telephone directory in order to ensure that you are indeed contacting your bank.

Never give out personal identifiable information over a telephone. Always attempt to visit your bank in person.