Garda warning on 'Vishing'
The scam, which has been prevalent in recent times, involves potential victims receiving a phone call from someone purporting to be a garda or bank person seeking bank details 'to help with an investigation'.
This would never be requested by An Garda, or a legitimate financial institution,
The bottom line is, never give your bank details to any caller over the phone. Also, do not respond to to a suggestion that you should 'ring your bank, or An Garda back'. The scam involves the criminals holding the call and responding as if they were the bank or the Garda.
'Vishing' can also be attempted by email.
Details of typical Vishing scam.
The scammer uses the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) tool with a modem to call phone numbers in a given region. When the consumer answers, an automated recording states that the consumer’s credit card is showing fraudulent activity. The consumer is directed to call a specific toll free or local phone number immediately.
The number dialled may show a spoofed caller ID for the financial company the scammer is pretending to represent. (Internet-telephone services do not require some of the verification checks used by traditional telephone companies; they provide telephone numbers with a choice of area codes that bear no relevance to the scammer’s actual location.)
In some cases, the thief already has the consumer’s credit card number and will only ask for the three-digit code on the back of the credit card. This makes the call seem even more legitimate to the victim.
Usually within three days of the call, the telephone line is disconnected. This, of course, makes it almost impossible to track the offender.
