Interesting VOIP scams

[OulOat]

Some Internet phone services allow scam artists to make it appear that they are calling from another phone number -- a useful trick that enables them to drain credit accounts and pose as banks or other trusted authorities, online fraud experts say.

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Wire-transfer services like Western Union (NYSE:FDC - news) require customers to call from their home phone when they want to transfer money in an effort to deter fraud -- a barrier easily sidestepped by any identity thief using a caller-ID spoofing service.

Fraud rings can now transfer money directly out of stolen credit-card accounts, rather than buying merchandise and reselling it, he said.

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Criminals can use caller-ID spoofing to listen to other people's voice mail, James said, especially when those accounts are not protected by passwords.

They also have begun to use the technology to make it appear that they are calling from a bank or other financial institution, said Dave Jevans, who chairs the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a banking-industry task force.

That helps them convince consumers to divulge account numbers, passwords and other sensitive information in a scam that echoes the "phishing" e-mails that have become common, he said.

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Guess now we can't even trust phone calls anymore. Think twice the next time your bank calls you before devulging your private information.