Vishing. It is becoming more and more popular by the day and sadly, victims are falling in its deadly traps because they may not think twice about phone communication.
The "V" stands for Voice. Approximately 99.0% of the time, when someone telephones you to ask you to update your personal information, it is a scam.

Understand what vishing is:
Vishing, like phishing, occurs by "attacking" victims over the telephone to get personal information to do such activities like taking out loans, getting credit cards, and so on. The fraudster will be tricking you in some way or form, so you will be giving information to him or her for unlawful reasons. Do not fall for this.

How to avoid vishing scams:

*Never give out your personal information to anybody over the telephone or on the internet. An exception to this would be if you were the one that INITIATED the phone call. Otherwise, you are most likely being scammed into identity theft and fraud.

*Think about this question for a moment. "How would you avoid a phishing scam?" Use this knowledge and apply it to avoid a vishing scam the same way. Always keep the red flags up when you have somebody asking you for personal information updates.

*If you are provided with a number and you call that number, only to discover you have reached a direct number and no automated answering with directions to press 1, 2, or 3 for example, on the touch pad of your telephone, you're likely being scammed with vishing. When you call a bank or credit card company, there will not be an agent directly answering your call. You must press a 0 for example, to speak to a customer services representative.

*If you have received a phone call from a "credit card company representative", immediately hang up and call the number on the back of your credit card ot banking access card, to ensure you get an automated answering machine.

*Never give out your Social Insurance Number (SIN) over the telephone when somebody calls you and asks you for it.

*Don't fall for those "You've won a trip to Mexico!"... "We need your full name, address, age, and credit card number". First, if you won a trip, you WON the trip and why on Earth would you have to pay a penny? Don't fall for this common example.

*Listen to your inner conscious. Is something telling you that this isn't right? It is best to be listening to these thoughts your mind is communicating to you.

Learn more about this author, Stacy Zahn.
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