What is vishing? Here's how to safeguard yourself from phone call frauds

Over the last decade, smartphones have become an extension of the physical body. The convenience of getting service delivered with a few simple taps on the screen makes it appealing even for naive users to fully adopt the digital lifestyle and go cash less.

UPI (Unified Payments Interface)-based transaction has taken off quite brilliantly in India. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns and safety protocols, more people are comfortable transacting using mobile apps than ever before. In January 2022, people transacted 4,617 crore times worth Rs 8,31,993 crore in India, says the latest NCPI (National Payments Corporation of India) report.

However, not everything about the phone is hunky-dory; if you are not careful enough, it may cause huge financial loss. Bad actors are using various phishing techniques via email, phone calls, social media platforms to hoodwink unsuspecting users to steal financial details.

In this edition, we will be focusing on 'vishing', where bad actors make phone calls to cheat people.

Here's how vishing works

Usually, in this method, threat actors make a phone call to random people. They try to impersonate as a banking executive or a government tax officer. The interesting thing to note is that the criminal will be very good at social engineering techniques. They are well versed with English or the local language of that region and also have good knowledge about banking-related jargon. They speak flawlessly and sound very caring to the person on the other side. This way, they build trust among victims in just a few minutes of conversation and eventually drop a bomb that their bank account will cease function and won't be able to withdraw cash via ATM, if they don't update the bank account with PAN number or perform KYC (Know Your Customer) process immediately.

In the state of panic mode, people trust the person on the call and do what they ask for. The former will ask them to reveal customer ID, password, email ID, phone number and also inform the victim that once the process is done, they will get an OTP (One-Time-Password) on the phone. Then, the operator goes for the kill and asks the naive user to share the OTP.

Within seconds, the victim gets the message that money has been debited from their account. Before they realise the gravity of the situation and report to the jurisdictional police and the bank branch. The criminals would have diverted the swindled money to various other banks and vanished in thin air.

Must read | Former Bengaluru commissioner falls victim to phone call fraud

They do the same by impersonating tax officials during the IT returns filing time, which usually begins in the second half of the year. They use the aforementioned social engineering technique to share financial details or else bank account will be frozen soon.

Similarly, they also lure victims saying that the latter has won the jackpot prize, and if they share their bank account details, they will transfer the winning prize money. Then, they trick the users to give away the OTP and steal their hard-earned money.

Here's how to detect and prevent phone call frauds
Whenever you get a phone call from an unknown person (not on the contact list), exercise caution when talking to them. No matter how fluently they speak and even if they say they are calling from the bank or Income Tax department or a lottery company, never ever reveal bank account number, customer ID or password, or an OTP. Simple logic dictates that the bank branch will already have your details and they never have to ask you.

Even if the person on the call says it is urgent and you need to renew the bank account immediately, never panic. Just hang up the call and go to your nearest bank branch and get the doubts cleared.

Also, if you happen to have the Truecaller app, just copy-paste the phone number on it, and most often than not, the number will be in the red-colored fraud/spam list.

Also, in some instances, they send a bait SMS saying you won a grand prize of millions of pounds/dollars in an international lottery or lucky draw competition. Your phone number was picked the winner and to get the money transferred to the bank account, call this number 96xxxxxxxx.

This will look too good to be true and yes, should not trust that one bit. Nothing comes free in life. If you ever see such a message, just ignore it and move on.

If you call the number back, they will talk to you pleasantly and ask for your bank account number, email, date of birth, and other personal information. And, then they will call again that there was some issue with tax authorities and they will say an OTP will come and you have to share it with them.

If you succumb to that temptation of getting rich overnight and share the OTP, you will definitely end up a pauper in no time.

Remember, bank or IT department officials will never seek financial details or the OTP via phone calls or through SMS/email. If you have any banking issues, go straight to the office and get them resolved personally.

If you fall prey to a vishing attack, follow the instructions below
Immediately, call the customer care number of your bank and ask them to block the transaction. Also, make sure you call the police control room to report the crime.

Union Home Ministry of India has set up National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (here) and also helpdesk hotline 155260. The latter is 24x7 operational in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.

In other states and Union Territories, the helpline is available from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

In Karnataka, citizens can report cybercrime by dialing toll-free number 112.

They can help you block the bank transaction to save full or at least part of the stolen money if reported soon after the incident.

Also read | Phishing alert: How to detect fake job offers

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.