IT Security

What is the Difference Between Vishing and Phishing Attacks?

What is Phishing?

Fraudulent contact with an individual via email, telephone, or text message in the form of an official-looking institution is known as phishing. Phishers attempt to trick people into disclosing sensitive information such as their personal information, banking and credit card information, and passwords by impersonating a legitimate organisation. As a result, the information is exploited to get access to crucial accounts, which can result in identity theft and financial loss for the victim.

What is Vishing?

Vishing is a type of cybercrime in which perpetrators utilise the phone to obtain personal and confidential information from their victims. Cybercriminals utilise sophisticated social engineering techniques to persuade victims to divulge sensitive information and access to bank accounts.

Cybercriminals use threats and persuasive language to make victims believe that they have no choice but to deliver the information that is being requested of them. A number of cybercriminals employ strong and forceful terminology, while others claim they are supporting the victim in order to avoid being charged with a crime. In a second and more prevalent strategy, scammers make frightening voicemails in which they threaten the recipient with arrest, bank account closure, or other dire consequences unless they return the call promptly.

The Difference Between Phishing and Vishing

Even though the two terms allude to the same fraud, there are some notable variances. Here are the main differences between vishing and phishing:

Precisely speaking, phishing is a scam that primarily uses email attacks with the goal of deceiving people into disclosing their personal and confidential information to cybercriminals. It employs a variety of techniques, including the theft of credit or debit card information, as well as sensitive banking details, login details, and so on.

Vishing, however, entails verbal communication, which is essential for the entire scam process to be successful. As a result, the majority of vishing attacks take place over the phone, albeit they can also happen on desktops and laptops. When attackers are unable to interact with their intended victims, they usually leave voice messages and voicemails pleading with them to contact them as soon as possible.

Vishing and phishing have evolved into two of the most common methods for large-scale cybercrime around the world. Scammers are becoming more sophisticated as technology advances, and they are devising new ways to deceive people into falling into their traps.

Vishing and phishing is a strategy that requires a lot of planning and adherence to a set of guidelines in order to be successful. As a result, in order to avoid falling victim to a scam like this, people must be aware of vishing and phishing, as well as understand what phishing and vishing are in the first place and how they work.

How to Identify Vishing vs. Phishing Attacks

Vishing attacks will show these telltale signs:

• The operator supposedly represents the IRS, Medicare, or Social Security Administration.
• There’s a sense of impending doom. Scammers will use threats of jail warrants and account troubles to instil dread in you.
• The caller requests information. In some cases, they may ask for proof of your identities such as a driver’s licence or Social Security number.

Phishing attacks are also identifiable by noticing:

• Illegitimate email addresses
• Misspelt emails
• Strange domain names
• Attachments your computer flags as unsafe
• The message is of urgency, much like with vishing

How to prevent Vishing and Phishing Attacks

Remember these things when you suspect you’re the victim of Vishing:

• None of these government agencies will ever attempt to contact you via email, text message or social media unless you’ve specifically requested them to. Be wary of anyone who calls with an offer.
• Never give out your information if you get one of these calls. Hang up and conduct your own research.
• A small amount of this data may even be in their possession in order to fool you into believing they’re genuine. Their purpose is to get the missing information.
• Register with the Do Not Call Registry.

Keep in mind these things with Phishing:

• Authentic companies will have official email addresses
• You won’t be asked to disclose personal information via email
• Look for the secure website padlock in the left hand of the web address bar. If it’s unlocked, don’t trust it.
• Don’t click on the link
• Get free anti-phishing add-ons
• Rotate passwords regularly

How ExterNetworks help your business from these attacks

Our experts are highly professional in all aspects of cyber threat monitoring. Keeping your data safe is vital, and we offer round the clock security monitoring to ensure that threats to your business are anticipated at every step. Trusting our experts is the smartest decision that you could make today.