Protecting yourself from ‘vishing’
It pays to be careful when receiving and trusting calls. So much are at stake and you can never compromise your financial information. Since phone calls from strangers can also mean that you will lose your financial information, it is imperative that you should not be too trusting of calls coming from unwanted callers. Remember that Caller ID systems can be hacked as well so this phone technology can be manipulated as well. This phone technology can be hacked and can be programmed to say anything and the VoIP providers can easily assign any area code to any phone number. Just to make sure, you can use the number at the back of the cards. And if the call is indeed legitimate then the bank will know that number.
If you think that you are being victimized thru these calls, then it is recommended that you just hang up the phone. Then contact the bank to verify if indeed they called you. At times you may be tempted to play the game and ask for your account number from them. Don’t try and ask for your account number. Chances are the scammers already have your bank account number. What you can do is to politely end the call; otherwise you just surrender important financial information related to your bank account. If by chance these scammers obtained the financial information from you, these scammers can do a number of things to your account information. Scammers can commit identity theft and they can make transactions and purchases in your name. These scammers can even apply for loans that they can use, while you will be left to pay the balance of the loan. Simply put, guard your financial information as if you are guarding your life. If you have been victimized, check out the Federal Trade Commission.
