Spoofing or bank card scams have become a real scourge in recent years. Faced with these scams, the government is struggling to respond despite measures in preparation. In an issue of Envoyé Spécial broadcast this Thursday, February 29, 2024, a hacker reveals his method for trapping scammers.
Spoofing has become a trendy scam in recent years. As a reminder, these scams are largely based on social engineering. The procedure is simple, but effective: after obtaining the victim’s telephone details (either via data leaks or phishing campaigns), the scammers make a phone call and pretend to be a bank advisor.
The idea is obviously to obtain access to your accounts or your banking details. In France, spoofing caused no less than 18 million victims in 2022, for damage estimated at 340 million euros. A scourge that the government is struggling to counteract. We nevertheless know that through the Naegelen law, the text which prohibits cold calling on weekends and public holidays, the authorities have planned a promising system.
In fact, operators will have the obligation to establish a system to authenticate calls made with 10-digit numbers. In the event of an irregularity, communication may be automatically cut off. Until this measure arrives, users still remain at the mercy of spoofing.
This hacker fights spoofing authors every day
In an issue of Envoyé Spécial broadcast this Thursday, February 29, 2024 on France 2, journalist Julien Duponchel and his teams looked into this phenomenon. During his report, he talks about the story of this hacker who decided to make the fight against spoofing its main focus.
At only 19 years old, this hacker considers himself “an anti-fraud activist”. In addition to doing prevention on social networks, the young man and his collective attack the crooks head-on with a simple, although illegal, technique. To sum up, they wiretap the criminals thanks to software that allows them to follow in real time a call between a scammer and his victim.
Also read: Spoofing scams are becoming more and more common, this tool helps you thwart them
His technique? Wiretapping
“We’re going to be behind the scenes, they won’t know anything and neither will the victim. And at the fateful moment, before the victim authorizes a payment, we can hang up and call the victim,” he explains. In front of our colleagues from France 2, he puts actions into words by giving a little demonstration.
After stopping a conversation between a lady and a scammer, the journalist takes over and begins a discussion with the victim. As a result, the hacker’s actions allowed the target to avoid losing no less than 12,850 euros! If his technique remains completely outside the law, it bears fruit in a formidable way. Can we envisage a democratization of this method? Envoyé Spécial reminds that wiretapping is legal, as long as it has been ordered by a sworn judge as part of a judicial investigation.
Source: Current Woman