The perpetrators often pretend to be trustworthy persons or institutions, such as employees of banks, IT departments or other companies, and pretend to be their real telephone number. The LKA experts appeal: "If you receive a call from your IT department without a problem having been reported beforehand, you should be careful. Fraudsters use this tactic to make contact and gain the trust of their victims."
The aim: Sensitive data or access to company software
The aim is to get the caller to disclose personal data such as passwords or account information. In some cases, the scammers also try to persuade victims to download malicious software, which is then installed on their devices.
The scam is difficult to see through - the perpetrators are professional
The perpetrators' approach is professional and therefore difficult to see through: The fraudsters speak accent-free German and sometimes use the known telephone number of the IT department of the company concerned (spoofing). The experts at the LKA NRW recommend that you do not follow any telephone instructions to download or run programs from the Internet. You should also be suspicious if the internal IT department contacts you without any prior reason.
Tips and advice for protection against vishing
In order to prevent the fraudsters from proceeding and to protect companies from vishing (voice phishing), the experts from the NRW State Criminal Police Office have compiled tips and advice, which are clearly presented below and in the download area on the right (mobile view below).
Spoofing - Attention Vishing
Adobe Stock/ Police NRWWatch out for vishing: The fraudsters sometimes use the known telephone number of the IT department of the company concerned (spoofing).
Vishing Alert
Adobe Stock/ Police NRWVishing is a form of fraud in which attackers try to obtain sensitive information from victims via phone calls or install malware on their computers.