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Call centers a popular target for fraudsters

One expert says that if contact phone channels were monitored, this could predict criminal behavior two weeks prior to actual attacks.

October 2, 2014

One out of 2,900 seems like a very small ratio, but out of a total of 105 million, the numbers stack up (to approximately 36,207).

This statistic represents the incidence of calls from fraudsters to call centers in an attempt to get details about customer account in order to steal from them.

Many times these crooks succeed by conning phone operators into altering personal details of a customer account. The thieves can then commit ID theft — gaining access to customer data and even changing customer contact information so that the victims cannot receive alerts.

These clever cons spoof their phone numbers to avoid detection, and use software to alter their voices and apparent gender.

Research into the 105 million calls also revealed that the fraudsters keyed in stolen social security numbers in succession until they got a bull’s-eye — a valid entry for an unnamed bank. They then tricked the victim into revealing personal data.

One expert says that if contact phone channels were monitored, this could predict criminal behavior two weeks prior to actual attacks.

Many companies believe that most attacks result from malware rather than social engineering (i.e., tricking victims into revealing sensitive data). When businesses focus on this theory, they open a huge social engineering door allowing fraudsters to swagger their way in.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com; to get his free e-book, text SECURE and your email address to 411247. 

photo courtesy of phillipe put | flickr