Technique
Vishing
Also known as: Voice Phishing, Phone Phishing, Telephone Phishing, TOAD (Telephone-Oriented Attack Delivery), Callback Phishing, Voice Fraud, Phone Scam
Voice phishing using phone calls to impersonate legitimate entities and extract information or payments.
Common attack flows
How it fits in a scam
This technique shows up duringDELIVERY
Defense
How to defend against this
How to spot it
- Unsolicited calls claiming urgent account problems or security issues
- Caller demands immediate payment via gift cards wire transfer or cryptocurrency
- Threats of arrest legal action or account suspension to create panic
- Requests for sensitive info (SSN PIN passwords MFA codes) over phone
- Caller ID shows trusted org but behavior seems off (spoofed numbers)
- Pressure to stay on line and not verify through official channels
- Claims from entities that rarely call (IRS FBI SSA)
- Background noise suggesting call center rather than legitimate office
- Caller refuses to provide callback number or case reference
Tools you can use
Steps you can take
Seen in the wild
Where we’ve seen it
Commonly targets
Further reading