Spoofing continues to claim victims, with ever more terrifying scams. On TikTok, a user says that a hacker called him with his mother’s phone number to make him believe that she had been kidnapped. The latter of course demanded a ransom in return. We explain how to protect yourself against these attacks.
A few days ago, user Citylivingsoutherngirl posted a video on TikTok recounting a particularly terrifying experience. It all starts when she receives a call from her mother. Her phone does indeed display her name, so the user does not ask herself any particular questions when picking up. It was then that she heard her mother’s voice in the background, visibly panicked. On the other end of the line, a threatening man tells her that she has been kidnapped and that he is ready to kill her if a ransom is not paid immediately.
As the call in all likelihood came from her mother’s phone, Citylivingsoutherngirl concludes that she is in serious danger. However, the ransom demanded by the kidnapper is relatively low: “only” 1000 dollars. Stranger still, this one manages to lower the price to 100 dollars, which seems very low for someone ready to murder his victim. Of course, once the payment has been made, the latter hangs up immediately. Citylivingsoutherngirl immediately calls back her mother, who is actually perfectly safe.
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Spoofing can lead to terrifying scams
Connoisseurs will have recognized a devilishly effective technique here: spoofing. The idea is simple: to appropriate the telephone number of a person or organization to make the victim believe that he is receiving a call from them. Generally, this is an opportunity for hackers to pretend to be the bank of their victims by demanding refunds and other deposits.
This last method is particularly popular with hackers for a simple reason. As simple as it is to set up (all you need is software capable of performing the operation on its own), spoofing has a crucial limitation: it does not allow you to choose the name that displayed on his victim’s phone. In other words, it is not possible to call someone in particular and pretend to be a relative with a number that is not the right one.
To concoct a scam like the one suffered by Citylivingsoutherngirl, it is therefore necessary to know the links between the owner of the telephone number used and the real victim targeted by the call. This therefore requires more effort for the hacker, who must both appropriate a telephone number and delve into the personal data of its owner to obtain a second number to scam.
How to protect against spoofing?
The best way to avoid being a victim of spoofing is above all to pay close attention to your online activity. Avoid providing your phone number on the web as much as possible and only do so if absolutely necessary. In the same way, it is more prudent not to display your direct links with your relatives or family, especially on social networks, as this makes life easier for hackers.
Finally, if despite everything one of them manages to reach you, remain attentive to the slightest sign that may indicate that the call is strange. If the voice used to imitate your loved one sounds weird, if the ransom demanded is too low, hang up immediately. Then try to call the person concerned. If it’s spoofing, it will pick up as if nothing had happened and you’ll know it’s a scam.
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