Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity

    Phone Scams Borrow Typosquatting Strategy to Target Bank Customers

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    November 19, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Phone Scammers B

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      As part of attempts to gather financial information from customers, cyber-criminals are reserving phone numbers that are similar to the contact numbers of banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, according to security firm Pindrop Security.

      In a study of phone numbers for some 600 institutions, the company found close variants used in fraud against 103 organizations, suggesting that attackers had targeted at least 17 percent of financial firms by selecting phone numbers designed to fool customers. The strategy, which Pindrop dubbed a “misdial trap,” could be designed to catch unaware consumers who incorrectly dial their financial institution’s number, the security firm said.

      The company looked at numbers with variants whose last four digits were adjacent to the last four digits of the actual number, Scott Strong, a data scientist with Pindrop, told eWEEK.

      “We were able to look at a large volume of phone numbers and compare them to variants of the financial institution’s phone number,” he said. “If a phone number is very similar and they are purporting to be that financial institution, then we considered it part of an attack.”

      The strategy closely resembles typosquatting on the Internet, a technique used by online attackers to catch mistyped email addresses and Website URLs. In those cases, researchers have found that creating a server to intercept mistyped domain names in email addresses actually received thousands of messages containing valuable information.

      Mistyped phone numbers may be a less effective technique, however. Yet other attacks using the technique are possible and, likely, more probable. Scammers could call banking customers and leave a message to call back at a fraudulent phone number, or the number could be included on a site created as part of a phishing scam. The closeness of the number to the actual financial institution’s number would make the victim put more trust in the scammer’s claims, Strong said.

      Similar phone numbers using a different prefix, such as 866 rather than 800, accounted for about 20 of the 103 numbers, according to the firm. Those numbers are not likely designed to take advantage of mistyped digits, but to fool credulous users, Strong said.

      Customers should call the phone number listed on their bank’s Website, or at least double check any phone numbers to see if they are connected to fraud complaints, Pindrop recommended. Financial institutions, on the other hand, should be more proactive and take the time to scan the Web for sites that may use phone number similar to their number and test variants of their numbers by dialing them, Strong said.

      “This is something that is worthwhile exploring if you are a financial institution,” he said. “You might want to spend some time and interns to look into numbers that are similar to yours.”

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×