What are the steps that can be taken by organizations to safeguard people from phishing, smishing, and vishing scams?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Financial institutions, credit card companies, and other organizations whose customers are targeted by criminals through short message service or voice mail should be on the alert for phishing, smishing, and vishing scams. They must be prepared to act quickly and decisively without alarming their customers if such a scam is detected. Recommended action steps for institutions and organizations include the following:
• Companies should educate their customers about the dangers of phishing, smishing, and vishing through letters, recorded messages for those calling into the company’s call center, and articles on the company’s Web site.
• Call center service employees should be trained to detect customer complaints that indicate a scam is being perpetrated. They should attempt to capture key pieces of information, such as the callback number the customer was directed to use, details of the phone message or text message, and the type of information requested.
• Customers should be notified immediately if a scam occurs. This can be done via a recorded message for customers phoning the call center, working with local media to place a news article in papers serving the area of the attack, placing a banner on the institution’s Web page, and even displaying posters in bank drive-through and lobby areas.
• If it is determined that the calls are originating from within the United States, companies should report the scam to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• Institutions can also try to notify the telecommunications carrier for the particular numbers to request that they shut down the phone numbers victims are requested to call.