A phishing voicemail is a type of scam where criminals try to obtain personal information or money from victims through a fraudulent phone message. Phishing voicemails often use social engineering tactics to manipulate recipients into disclosing sensitive data or taking other harmful actions.
Common Names for Phishing Voicemails
Phishing voicemails go by many different names, including:
- Robocall scam
- Automated phone scam
- Voicemail hacking
- Fraudulent voicemail
- Voicemail phishing
- Vishing (voice + phishing)
- Phone phishing
While these terms all refer to slightly different types of scams, they generally involve using a fake voicemail message to steal personal information or money. The most common term used is “vishing,” which combines “voice” and “phishing.”
Hallmarks of a Phishing Voicemail
Phishing voicemails often share certain characteristics that can help identify them as scams:
- The call appears to come from a legitimate organization, like a bank, government agency, or well-known company.
- The message asks you to call back a provided number or press a button to speak with a representative.
- It threatens account suspension, legal action, or other negative consequences if you don’t respond.
- The voicemail asks you to provide or verify personal information like account numbers, Social Security numbers, or passwords.
- It pressures you to act immediately to avoid negative impacts.
- The message contains poor grammar, spelling mistakes, threatening language, or other red flags.
Any voicemail displaying these types of characteristics should be treated with extreme caution, as it is likely a scam attempt.
Examples of Phishing Voicemail Scams
Some common phishing voicemail scams include:
- Fake bank alerts: A message claims there is suspicious activity on your bank account. It provides a number to call to verify account details and stop fraudulent charges.
- Fake government warnings: A voicemail pretends to be from the IRS, Social Security Administration, or other agency. It threatens arrest or legal action for unpaid debts unless you call back immediately.
- Fake account suspensions: A message says your Amazon, iCloud, Netflix or other account will be suspended unless you call a number to update billing details.
- Fake technical support: A voicemail offers “technical support” for computer issues and leaves a callback number to receive assistance.
- Fake prizes and giveaways: A message claims you have won a contest, lottery drawing, or random cash giveaway. But it says you must call back to claim the winnings.
The goal with each phishing voicemail is to coerce the victim into calling back and divulging personal details that scammers can use to steal money or identities.
Who is Behind Phishing Voicemail Scams?
Phishing voicemails originate from a range of cybercriminal groups and organizations:
- Individual scammers: Solo fraudsters commit voicemail phishing to make quick money by stealing personal information.
- Small criminal rings: Groups coordinate vishing campaigns together, then share and sell the data collected from victims.
- Large crime syndicates: Sophisticated cybercrime networks use automation to send high volumes of fraudulent voicemails.
- Foreign entities: Overseas groups, and even state-sponsored organizations, run phone phishing scams to economically or politically destabilize other nations.
In many cases, international criminal organizations mastermind the campaigns, but hire individual scammers domestically to interact with victims by phone. The individuals just follow scripts provided to them.
How Do Phishing Voicemails End Up on My Phone?
Scammers use various tactics to deliver phishing voicemails, including:
- Caller ID spoofing: Services make calls appear to come from legitimate phone numbers, even if they don’t.
- Random dialing: Robocall systems automatically generate and dial random or sequential numbers.
- Targeted dialing: Criminals buy or generate specific phone number lists to target.
- Hacked phone systems: Scammers break into business phone systems and use them to originate phishing calls.
- Botnets: A network of infected computers placed automated phishing calls in the background.
In general, the more random the phone number, the more likely the voicemail is a scam call placed through random or robotic dialing. Calls that contain some personal details often originate from a data breach or targeted list.
How to Identify and Avoid Phishing Voicemail Scams
Here are some tips to recognize and prevent falling victim to phishing voicemail scams:
- Be wary of calls from unknown numbers or numbers that look similar to ones you know.
- Don’t call back numbers left on suspicious voicemails asking you to dial in.
- Never provide personal or financial details if a voicemail asks you to call back and verify information.
- Don’t follow any instructions to press buttons, as it may sign you up for services.
- Watch for urgent demands, threats of account suspension, or guaranteed prizes.
- Block phone numbers that leave fraudulent voicemails.
- Set a voicemail password to prevent unauthorized access.
- Report scam calls and voicemails to authorities at ftc.gov/complaint.
Ultimately, treat unsolicited voicemails with skepticism. Calling back or providing information to any questionable message could lead to financial loss or identity theft.
What to Do if You Responded to a Phishing Voicemail
If you already called back and provided information to a phishing voicemail, take these steps immediately:
- Contact your bank and other affected accounts and report fraudulent activity. Reset account passwords, pins, and security questions.
- Place fraud alerts and request credit freezes if scammers gained financial account details or Social Security numbers.
- Change the passwords on any non-financial accounts compromised by the scam.
- Watch account statements and credit reports closely for signs of misuse of your information.
- Report the scam call to the FTC and phone provider.
Taking quick action can help limit the damage from any personal details already provided to scammers. Be vigilant going forward and learn to identify the hallmarks of phishing voicemails to avoid future scams.
The Future of Phishing Voicemail Scams
Unfortunately, vishing scams show no signs of slowing down. Some predictions for the future of phishing voicemails include:
- Scammers improving caller ID spoofing to use real phone numbers of organizations.
- Increase in hacking business phone systems to originate scam calls.
- Using AI to mimic voices and generate personalized, interactive scam calls.
- Targeting higher value accounts and identities like business executives.
- Expanding vishing attacks globally to take advantage of patchwork telecom regulations.
To combat the threat, phone carriers are implementing new technologies like Stir/Shaken to authenticate caller IDs. Consumers should remain vigilant about unknown callers and voicemails. With awareness, these phishing scams can be caught before falling victim.
Conclusion
Phishing voicemails go by many names – robocall scams, phone phishing, and most commonly vishing. They involve fraudulent voicemails trying to harvest personal details or money from victims. Scammers use clever social engineering tricks and urgent threats to coerce action. With an understanding of common tactics, these messages can be identified before disclosing information. Consumers should stay alert for the hallmarks of phishing calls, and take steps to protect themselves in the future.