CrossCheck Blog

CrossCheck Blog

Check Processing & Payments Information

3 Identity Theft Methods: Phishing, Vishing and Mishing

Posted by Brandon Weaver | Thu, May 29, 2014 @ 10:00 AM

Identity Theft FingerprintNearly 7% of the population over sixteen years old – that’s 17 million Americans – had their identity stolen last year.  85% Of them had their bank account or credit card breached. Over a third suffered severe emotional stress, almost a third endured the problem for over a month, more than one in ten was robbed – and nine out of ten had no idea how it happened.

Despite this sobering reality, you can help your customers protect themselves by making sure they don’t fall victim to the types of ruses that law enforcement has already identified. Identity theft is not limited to online methods or people scavenging through your garbage trying to find financial documents.

Despite this sobering reality, you can help your customers protect themselves by making sure they don’t fall victim to the types of ruses that law enforcement has already identified. Identity theft is not limited to online methods or people scavenging through your garbage trying to find financial documents.

Phishing

When phishing, the thief sends a deceptive email to the recipient tricking him into providing personal account details. Often the phisher will provide the user a link to “sign in” at an official-looking website, created to look almost identical to a real vendor’s with similar design and functionality but built specifically to collect personal information. That information will be used against the victim later.

Two red flags with this scenario: First, spelling and grammar mistakes can help you identify phishing scams. Second, the phisher will not address you by name in the email. Instead, they greet you as an “account holder or customer.” Be careful, but you can also hover over hyperlinks and see where they resolve to, which often reveals an unrelated domain name.

If you have even the slightest suspicion, it’s recommended you call the related vendor to ensure they sent the email in question.

Vishing

Vishing uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to go phishing. The visher will make cold calls to the victim posing as a representative of the victim’s bank, some investigation team, or some other highly important you-need-to-listen-to-me type of message. Other times these calls will be automated with voice prompts. Either way, the plan is to gain access to the victim’s financial and personal information. To the visher there are benefits to using VoIP technology because they can call long distance, it is cheaper, and requires fewer landlines. Just like you the business owner, thieves are looking to cut costs, too, to maximize their profits!

Vishing claimed $11 million in 2013 in the United Kingdom alone, but these grifts are certainly not isolated to any particular region of the globe. The frequency of phone schemes doubled last year and are particularly popular after a natural disaster. Believe it or not, vishers will call to get donations for relief funds supposedly supporting people affected by disasters like Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, or the recent tornado in the Philippines.

Mishing

Phishing by text messaging. The misher typically poses as an employee from the bank claiming they need your personal details or requesting that you settle an issue at their bank. With texting so prevalent in society, it was only a matter of time before thieves took to this method. Users may be more vulnerable to mishing if they purchase items using their phone or do mobile banking.

No doubt, protecting your identity is paramount with so many fraudulent activities in play, and protecting yourself from known activity increases the chances that you won’t fall victim. To further educate yourself on the subject, check out our guide 17 Tips to Protect Your Identity.

 

17 Tips to Protect Your Identity Guide

Written by Brandon Weaver