Hacking Information

 

THE SAFEST OPTION IS TO BAR ALL OUTGOING CALLS FROM THE PORT YOUR VOICEMAIL IS CONNECTED TO

OR AS A MINIMUM SET UP CALL BARRING TO INTERNATIONAL CALLS ON THAT PORT

IF IN DOUBT CONTACT YOUR MAINTAINER

 

 

The Scam Works Like This:

 

A hacker calls into a voice mail system and searches for voice mailboxes that still have the default passwords active or have passwords with easily-guessed combinations, like 1-2-3-4. (Hackers = know common default passwords and are able to try out the common ones until they= can break into the phone system.) The hacker then uses the password to access the phone system and to make international calls.

The hacker does this in a number of ways, the most common recently is the hacker breaks into voice mailboxes that have remote notification systems that forward calls or messages to the mailbox owner. The hacker programs the remote notification service to forward to an international number, or advise a remote number that a message has been left. The hacker then leaves a fake message on the mailbox, which will then keep trying to ring the programmed number.

 

What to Beware of:

 

Hackers usually break into voice mail systems during holiday periods or weekends, when callers will not be calling; thus, the changing of the outgoing message goes unnoticed.

Hackers are typically based internationally, with calls frequently originating= in and/or routed through the Philippines or Saudi Arabia.

Businesses that are victimized usually find out about the hacking when their phone company calls to report unusual activity or exceptionally high phone bills. (The fraud usually occurs on business voice mailbox systems, but consumers with residential voice mail also could also become targets.)

Consumers who are victimized may find out about the hacking when they receive unusually high phone bills.

 

What You Should Do to Prevent This Risk:

 

Always change the default password from the one provided by the supplier;

choose a complex voice mail password of at least six digits, making it more difficult for a hacker to detect;

change your voice mail password frequently;

don’t use obvious passwords such as an address, birth date, phone number, or repeating or successive numbers, i.e. 000000, 123456;

check your recorded announcement regularly to ensure the greeting is indeed yours. Hackers tend to attack voice mailboxes at the start of weekendsor holidays;

consider blocking international calls, if possible; and

consider disabling the remote notification, auto-attendant, call-forwarding, and out-paging capabilities of voice mail if these features are not used.

 

THE SAFEST OPTION IS TO BAR ALL OUTGOING CALLS FROM THE PORT YOUR VOICEMAIL IS CONNECTED TO

OR AS A MINIMUM SET UP CALL BARRING TO INTERNATIONAL CALLS ON THAT PORT

IF IN DOUBT CONTACT YOUR MAINTAINER

 

Back to homepage