Fraudsters phish for your number

Nick Verhaar
In a world heavily reliant on digital technologies and telecommunications, scammers will go to many great lengths to gain access not only to your computer, but personal information, bank accounts and anything else of worth.
As people are becoming more and more technologically savvy, many of these scamming attempts stick out like sore thumbs and get dealt with long before they get a chance to see the light of day. However, scammers and fraudsters are becoming increasingly creative and developing new and unexpected ways of stealing data and finances from under our noses.
The latest phishing scam detected circulating on the Internet begins with a simple warning distributed via email, detailing that there has been a problem with the recipient’s bank account and instructs them to urgently phone a listed number o resolve it.
There have been two different variants of this warning message found, both of which are disguised to appear to have come from two different bank accounts and also include separate phone numbers to contact.
On contacting the phone number, you will be greeted by a voice messaging system designed to mimic the bank’s own phone system and will be prompted to enter your account number and PIN via the keypad on your telephone.
Upon doing this, you are giving the scammers complete access to your personal bank account and all of its content, with which they can do as they please.
If you receive this scam or anything remotely similar, you should notify your service provider immediately so they can act accordingly and ensure it goes no further.
As a rule, people should never dial phone numbers listed in warning email messages as they have a tendency to be a scam or some form of attempt of fraud.