Assignment 1:Information

Literacy
Elizabeth Anglada

Mobile Phones and "Vishing" Fraud

The term "vishing," or voice or VoIP phishing, refers to a fraudulent act committed via cellular or
landline phone with the aim of gaining financial or personal information from an unsuspecting user.
With the rise of mobile device use, elaborate cell phone scams have surfaced involving fraudulent text
messages, voice mails, and phone calls that have resulted in a multitude of unwitting account holders
losing millions of dollars from their private banking accounts, as well as a rampant increase in identity
theft cases.

Caught on Tape...
Having recently received a series of calls on my mobile phone in which the callers attempted to gain
access to the contents of my personal computer through a fake Microsoft scam, I wanted to learn more
about mobile phone security and "vishing." Using a simple Google search, I quickly stumbled upon a
recent BBC article detailing one family's experience with a sophisticated "vishing" scam entitled,
"Caught on Tape: How Phone Scammers Tricked a Victim Out of 12,000 Pounds."
The scam, while not particularly new or innovative, was well-crafted: the caller posed as a bank
representative, and explained that the victim's account had been compromised. He used many of the
tricks of the trade including a reassuring, but authoritative manner, and a ploy called "number
spoofing," where scammers call back from a number that is altered to appear legitimate, such as a bank
customer service number. Ultimately, the victim fell for the whole charade, and transferred 12,000
British Pounds (over $18,000) to the thieves' accounts. However, what makes this story unique (and
ultimately gives it a happy ending), is what the victim's son had done before the scam took place: he
used technology to ultimately beat the scammers at their own game! By installing special recording
software on his mother's cell phone, the entire scam was caught on tape. This is noteworthy because it's
thought to be the first time that this has occurred; perhaps more importantly, the taped evidence and
subsequent media coverage eventually forced not only the authorities to launch a formal investigation,
but the victim's bank to refund the lost money in full.

Assignment 1:Information
Literacy
Elizabeth Anglada

Google vs. Bing

After reading of about this victim's story of "vishing," I went on to find two additional articles on the
subject using two different search engines. I employed the same keywords of "vishing scam" in my
searches on Bing and Google.
First, using Bing, I discovered an article entitled, "Beware text messages sent from your bank: 'vishing'
con netted fraudsters 24m pounds last year- and refunds are often refused." Secondly, I used Google
and found an article entitled, "What is a Vishing Scam?" which was very informative.
I normally employ Google as my search engine of choice (probably more out of habit than anything), but
Bing proved to be very good as well, and both had nice features and numerous search results. I found
that Bing immediately offered up more results when I entered my keywords than Google (101,000 and
21,100, respectively), but Google suggested several additional search criteria options that were helpful.
Additionally, I noted that the very first search results for Google suggested several scholarly articles on
"vishing" scams. Generally, I like the layout of Google and find it more pleasing to use, but this exercise
showed me the merits of using more than one search engine when doing research.

TRRAAP Evaluation of an Article

I chose the article entitled, "What is a Vishing Scam?" from WiseGeek.com to do my TRRAAP evaluation,
because I found it to be well-written and informative.
T- While the exact original publication date is unclear, the article was timely and updated within the last
few weeks (September 2, 2015).
R- It related to my topic well, and explained the concept of "vishing" in a clear manner.
R- One downside of this article is that it's difficult to tell its reliability; while the article does offer
information such as the author and editor, no further citations are listed.
A- The article is written by a freelance writer, so the authority of it is definitely in question; a positive
feature of the article, however, is that there are incorporated links for various government agencies
provided to the reader if help with vishing is needed.
A- There is no real evidence that the information is trustworthy or accurate, though the "article details"
box and provided links mentioned above do give the impression of legitimacy.
P- The main purpose of the article is to inform, though the author is also trying to persuade the reader
to use caution and common sense to avoid a "vishing" scam.

Assignment 1:Information
Literacy
Elizabeth Anglada

Scholarly Journal Articles

In continuing my research on "vishing," I used the CCBC Library databases for the first time. Since I was a
new user, I was unfamiliar with the content of each database and decided to learn more about a few of
them.
First, I tried the CQ Researcher database, using the keywords "vishing," "cell phone scam," and "cell
phone security," with no luck. I then tried searching by topic (Transnational Crime, Cybersecurity, Law &
Justice), also with no good results for my research.
I then moved on to the SIRS database, where I used the keywords above, and expanded into "bank fraud
and cellular phones," which led me to the suggestion of "swindling and swindlers." Eventually, I tried
using the advanced search option (keywords "cell phone" and "security and fraud") and found an article
that related to my topic, entitled, "Swindler's List: How Phone Frauds Script a Scam."
Finally, I employed the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database using the keyword "vishing" and found
an article entitled, "Milford police urge residents to watch out for text message scams."

Article Comparison: Web vs. Scholarly Journal

For comparison purposes, the WiseGeek.com article, "What is a Vishing Scam?" and the journal article,
"Swindler's List: How Phone Frauds Script a Scam" are excellent in illustrating the fact that information
on the Web demands thorough scrutiny.
While the first article is informative and seems to be accurate, there is a definite lack of source citation
and credentials on the part of the author, as well as the website; the second article comes from a more
reliable original source (Consumer's Research) and is part of a verified database (SIRS).
I did note, however, that the web article was vastly easier to access using my keywords, and also much
more recent than the journal article (updated September 2, 2015 vs. published in March, 1995).

Assignment 1:Information
Literacy
Elizabeth Anglada

Bibliography

Blake, Kevin. "Swindler's List: How Phone Frauds Script a Scam."

Consumers' Research March (1995): 10-14. SIRS Researcher [ProQuest]. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. "What Is Vishing?" WiseGeek.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 19 Sept. 2015. Last modified date: 02 September, 2015

Lynam, Joe, and Ben Carter. "Caught on Tape: How Phone Scammers Tricked a Victim out of 12,000
Pounds." BBC.com. BBC News, 4 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.

Lythe, Ruth. "Beware Text Messages Sent from Your Bank: 'vishing' Con Netted Fraudsters 24 Pounds
Last Year- and Refunds Are Often Refused." Dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail, 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Sept.
2015. Updated: 16 September, 2015

"Milford police urge residents to watch out for text message scams." New Haven Register [New Haven,
CT] 9 May 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.