Let’s start with the basics: What is ‘callback phishing’?

Callback phishing is a specific type of cyber security email threat. In this type of phishing attack the cyber criminal impersonates a business and claims that a transaction has been made using the recipients information (credit card, bank account numbers, address, etc.). Then, the attacker attempts to entice the recipient to ‘confirm’ the fake transaction by calling a fictional customer support line or by submitting confidential information to validate the transaction. These attacks aim to collect specific, sensitive information from the recipient like credit card numbers and bank account information.

Dean Dorton’s Cyber Security Team has observed callback phishing attacks that impersonate PayPal, McAfee, CrowdStrike, etc., but there are countless companies that could be impersonated in this type of attack and attacks of this nature are on the rise.

Below are two examples of callback phishing attacks:

PayPal Callback Phishing Example:

https://deandorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Callback-phishing-image-1.png

CrowdStrike Callback Phishing Example:

https://deandorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/callback-phishing-example-2.png

Callback phishing emails are unique in the way they often bypass email filters. Since they do not include malicious links or attachments with malware, email filters typically won’t catch them, so it’s important to be able to spot the general warning signs on your own.

Dean Dorton’s Cyber Security Team has a few tips to help you spot this kind of cyber attack:

  1. Review the sender. Ensure that the email is actually from the company it is purporting to be. Even email addresses can be spoofed, so this is not foolproof, but it is a great first step in the investigation process. For example, the PayPal email shown above was sent from a personal Gmail address.
  2. Ask yourself, what does this email want me to do?  If the language in the email is trying to convince you to do something (especially if it insinuates urgency), that is a red flag! In the examples above, the cyber criminal is trying to convince you to ‘callback’, but in other cases, they may try to convience you to click a fraudulent link. Be diligent before clicking any links within emails and do not call phone numbers that you can’t indentify.
  3. If you are sceptical, ask for help. After the intial investigation, you are still not sure, contact your IT team to do some further digging. Remember, causing a false alarm is much better than setting off a real one!

Dean Dorton’s Technology team is here to help. If you have questions about ‘callback phishing’ attacks, or want to discuss how we can help protect your business with cyber security services, contact us today.

 

Cyber Security Services

Jordan Johnson
Cyber Security Consultant
jjohnson@ddaftech.com • 859.425.7659