The Information Security and Privacy Office has received information from employees and other institutions about suspicious phone calls to personal cell phones and work phones. The callers have used a variety of strategies to try and get individuals to share personal information, including:
- Caller claims to have legal papers to deliver if the individual does not make a payment on a pending legal case.
- Caller asks individual to download software onto their computer.
- Caller claims the individual’s computer has a virus and directs them to call another number to “clean” the computer.
These voice-enabled phishing attempts, also known as vishing scams, are increasingly common. Typically, the caller will attempt to convince an individual to provide their credit card numbers, account credentials, or other sensitive user account information, to visit a compromised website, or to download malicious software.
Regardless of whether you receive the suspicious call on your personal phone or your work phone, NEVER follow the caller’s instructions.
For a call on your work phone, please do the following:
- Ask the caller for a full name and organization.
- Write down the number of the call. (In some cases, the call may have been forwarded so you may only see 342-2000.)
- Inform the caller you are contacting the police.
- Contact the Information Security and Privacy Office at 856.536.1317 or informationsecurityandprivacy@cooperhealth.edu.
For more information on vishing, refer to the following articles:
- Vishing and smishing: The rise of social engineering fraud
- Beware of Voice Phishing—or “Vishing”—Calls
- Vishing: Combining Phone and Online Fraud
Should you have any questions, please contact the Information Security and Privacy Office at 856.536.1317 or informationsecurityandprivacy@cooperhealth.edu.