Caller ID Spoofing

The majority of telephones these days have the ability to display the incoming telephone number which allows for increased security, the majority of the time.

This is of great benefit for a number of reasons – security largely because callers are able to screen calls and therefore if they are not interested in speaking with the person who is calling, they don’t have. As with anything though, there is a minority population out there who wish to jeopardise the safety and manipulate the increased level of information to their benefit.

There are groups of scam artists who cold-call people in the same way they always have done, but this time they list a telephone number similar to that of a major company so that the customer thinks they are on the receiving end of a genuine call. The scammers then request information such as credit card details and bank account numbers or other sensitive information if they choose to pose as government representatives.

Most of the time the way these scammers manage to obtain this information is through the use of voice over IP systems. These allow the caller to manipulate their number in order to appear as a company they are not, hence the ability to glean information illegally. Voice over IP systems use the internet to make telephone calls which keep the costs down as well as allowing for a level of manipulation. They also allow for multiple calls to be made simultaneously so multiple callers can try to scam multiple innocent people at the same time.

If you find that you have been the victim of this type of scam, there is advice out there for what action you can take. Firstly, do not give out any information if you are in doubt of the legitimacy of the call. Hang up the phone and call the number on a piece of correspondence you have from the company so that you can check its legitimacy. Remember though, do not make a call for at least five minutes to make sure the phone line is no longer connected.

If possible, make a note of the phone number which called you. This can be published across a series of media – including the internet – so that other people are made aware of the threat posed to them. It could also be advisable to alert those local to you, neighbours and friends who live in the same area as it could be an area-related target.

It is also important to contact the authorities: report the caller to the police on 101 or your local number (it is not an emergency so it would be ill-advised to dial 999) as well as Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

More information on the problems caused by calls such as this can be found here: http://www.eurodigitel.com/news/