{"id":29517,"date":"2021-08-06T22:30:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/spam-with-vishing-phone-numbers\/29517\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T22:31:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:31:17","slug":"spam-with-vishing-phone-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/spam-with-vishing-phone-numbers\/29517\/","title":{"rendered":"Spam mail with vishing numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the colossal amount of telephone scamming these days, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a phone owner anywhere on the planet who hasn\u2019t been a scammer\u2019s target at least once<\/a>. But like all forms of cold calling, phone scams are resource-intensive and highly inefficient. Therefore, some scammers try to optimize the process by getting potential victims to call them.<\/em> One tool they use is good old-fashioned spam.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t make this purchase, please call us\u201d<\/h2>\n

We recently detected several waves of spam e-mails, seemingly from reputable companies, notifying recipients of substantial purchases. The item in question is usually a high-end device such as the latest Apple Watch or a gaming laptop purchased from Amazon or paid for through PayPal.<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

Fake PayPal\/Amazon purchase confirmations with vishing phone numbers<\/p><\/div>\n

Other, more exotic variants crop up from time to time. For example, we detected an e-mail about the purchase of $1,999 worth of \u201cCryptocurrency (Bitcoin)\u201d:<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

Fake PayPal notification, including the scammers\u2019 phone number, of a \u201cCryptocurrency (Bitcoin)\u201d purchase<\/p><\/div>\n

Other, similar notifications mention the purchase of security software licenses\u00a0\u2014 we\u2019ve seen some referring to Norton and even Kaspersky (although our product lineup has never included a \u201cKaspersky Total Protection.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

Fake notifications about the purchase of Norton and \u201cKaspersky Total Protection\u201d licenses with vishing phone numbers<\/p><\/div>\n

The scam relies on recipients being so alarmed by the not-insubstantial loss that they will act rashly, hoping to get their money back.<\/p>\n

Of course, their money hasn\u2019t gone anywhere \u2014 at least, not yet. This particular strain of spam e-mails contain no links, but they do include a phone number that the victim is asked to call if they want to change or cancel the order. Sometimes the number sits unobtrusively somewhere at the bottom of the text. Other times it is highlighted in red and repeated several times in the message.<\/p>\n

What happens if you call? Most likely the scammers will try to wangle your login credentials for some financial service or bank card details. Alternatively, they might try to trick you into transferring money or even installing a Trojan on your computer, which has been known to happen<\/a>. The only limits are the scammers\u2019 imagination and vishing skills.<\/p>\n

How to guard against such e-mails<\/h2>\n

The particulars may change, but all scams have certain elements in common: the use of some sort of trick to get someone to do something. Vishing is no different. Follow these guidelines for safety:<\/p>\n