Vishing

WHY IN NEWS?

Chennai Police Commissioner has said that 80% of complaints about cybercrimes were related to vishing.

ABOUT VISHING

• Voice phishing is a form of criminal phone fraud, using social engineering over the telephone system to gain access to private personal and financial information for the purpose of financial reward.
• It is sometimes referred to as 'vishing' - a portmanteau of "voice" and phishing.
• Landline telephone services have traditionally been trustworthy; terminated in physical locations known to the telephone company, and associated with a bill-payer.
• Now however, vishing fraudsters often use modern Voice over IP (VoIP) features such as caller ID spoofing and automated systems (IVR) to make it difficult for legal authorities to monitor, trace or block.
• Voice phishing is typically used to steal credit card numbers or other information used in identity theft schemes from individuals

Prelims Question

Q. The term ‘Vishing’, often in news, is related to
a. Financial fraud
b. Environmental conservation
c. Computer malware
d. Artificial intelligence

Answer to the Prelims Question