Category: Phishing

What is Cat Phishing

Note: No cats were hurt in the creation of this article!

Phishing is where scammers send out mass emails or texts or use automated phone call systems to contact very large numbers of people, claiming  to be from a well-known organisation. Their  intention is to con people into giving up confidential information such as login and password, credit card details, bank accounts etc.

Spear Phishing is a form of phishing where the scammers try to steal confidential information from specific targets. These may be at one company or other organisation or otherwise form a group that can be targeted in this way.

The scammers collect information on their targets e.g. personal details such as their address, list of friends and contacts, employer, locations they frequent, shops they visit, utility providers of electricity, gas etc.

The attackers then pretend to be from an organisation the target has dealings with and uses the information they have to convince the target of their validity to then acquire further information.

Cat Phishing is a more specialised form of Spear Phishing where an individual is targeted and the scammer creates a whole network of apparent contacts as part of a fake characters life. This kind of scam can take months to setup and operate and is only viable if the target possesses very valuable information that can be sold by the scammers e.g. for industrial espionage purposes.

Cat phishing is also used in romance scams on dating websites, where the information they gather before contacting the victim lets them set themselves up as the perfect partner.

Cat phishing is usually through online dating websites and social media and is becoming more of a problem as more of our lives are online – it’s easier for someone to be able to get a person’s details and fake an identity.

Once the attacker brings the victim into their confidence, she typically has a reason for needing money – for travel to meet in person, or has just been robbed or to pay medical bills or to cover an emergency.

Cat phishing can be emotionally damaging in romance scams when the victim finds out that the person they’ve fallen in love with doesn’t exist and the whole thing including their feelings are fake.

How to Spot Cat Phishing Attempts

  • A too good to be true situation. The contact is highly attractive and available
  • The person appears suddenly as if from nowhere.
  • He or she has excuses why they cannot phone or use Skype or Facetime (nothing that reveals their true face)
  • He or she gets serious too quickly
  • That request for money and a story to justify it is the clincher

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HMRC Arrest Warrant Scam

Lots of scammers impersonate HMRC to call or text or email with messages about your needing to make instant payment against the amount you owe HMRC in unpaid taxes.

This new version of the scam involves automated calling systems, cloning of phone numbers and a call centre of criminals.

E.g. You receive an automated call (or maybe its recorded on your answer phone)

The message states that an arrest warrant had been issued under your name and you should press “1” to speak to the case officer or maybe the message directs you to call a specific number.

If you press or call the number you are put through to a call centre of scammers and you will be pressurised to make immediate payment to avoid being arrested.

The payment is likely to be iTunes vouchers. This may seem an odd choice, but once purchased – you just need to tell them the ID number for the vouchers and they can make use of them.

Obviously HMRC do not really accept payment in vouchers so this should warn any potential victims, but some people do pay up without thinking or checking.

The number is usually displayed on a person’s phone as 0300 2003300 – the official number of HMRC. On some phones, when the call comes through “HMRC” appears on their screen as if that is the genuine caller.

However, while the number appears to be a genuine it is in fact from fraudsters looking to trick unsuspecting victims out of their money.

Don’t assume anyone who has contacted you is who they say they are. If an email, phone call or text message asks you to make a payment, log in to an online account or offers you a deal, verify whether it’s real or just a clever scam.

How to Stay Safe Against These Scams

  1. Recognise the signs – Genuine organisations, such as banks and HMRC, will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details
  2. Do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting
  3. Forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to [email protected] and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report any suspicious calls or use its online fraud reporting tool

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