Vishing represents one of the most insidious threats in the digital security landscape today . This term, derived from the combination of “voice” and “phishing,” identifies an advanced form of telephone scam that exploits the latest artificial intelligence technologies to deceive victims.
Unlike traditional phone scams, modern vishing uses advanced software capable of cloning people’s voices with impressive accuracy, making it nearly impossible to distinguish a genuine call from a fraudulent one.
This technique is spreading rapidly in Italy, where an alarming growth in cyber attacks is being recorded : according to 2025 data, our country became the target of 10% of global cyber attacks, with a 53% increase in events in the first half of the year.
Vishing isn’t just a technological problem; it affects the emotional and financial lives of victims, causing direct financial damage and psychological consequences such as anxiety, shame, and a profound sense of betrayal. Understanding how vishing works and the tools available to protect ourselves from it has become crucial for anyone who uses a phone, whether landline or mobile.
How the vishing trap works
Vishing attacks follow a well-defined script that combines social engineering and cutting-edge technologies .
- The first contact usually occurs through a silent call , apparently harmless but in reality strategic: it is used by scammers to verify that the telephone number is active and used by a real person .
- This initial phase is followed by subsequent calls , during which criminals attempt to record samples of the victim’s voice , perhaps asking seemingly innocuous questions that prompt the person to speak.
Alternatively, these audio snippets can be found directly online , extracted from videos posted on the victim’s social media profiles or other publicly accessible sources .
In fact, just three seconds of audio are enough for generative artificial intelligence software to develop a practically perfect voice clone , capable of replicating the tone, rhythm, and inflections of the original voice. - Once the voice sample has been obtained and the clone created, the scammers move on to the final stage of the attack: they contact the victim’s family, friends, or colleagues using the cloned voice to simulate emergency situations .
The stories are always the same, but they are incredibly effective:
a car accident, a police stop abroad, a broken cell phone, an urgent medical problem requiring immediate money transfer.
The effectiveness of this scam is amplified by spoofing , a technique that allows the phone number displayed on the recipient’s screen to be falsified.
This makes the call appear to actually come from a family member’s cell phone or the bank’s office, further lowering the victim’s defenses and making the trap practically perfect.
The consequences of vishing
When talking about vishing, the first thought inevitably goes to financial losses, which represent the most immediate and tangible damage .
Victims may find themselves transferring thousands of euros in just a few minutes, believing they are helping a family member in need or solving an urgent problem with their bank.
However, the consequences of this scam go far beyond the economic aspect and touch deeper dimensions of people’s lives.
In many cases, the attackers are not targeting the money directly, but the victim’s sensitive data :
banking information, access codes, identity documents that can be used to commit further fraud, including identity theft.
This type of damage can continue over time, with consequences that become apparent even months later, when the victim discovers empty accounts, loans taken out in their name, or other fraudulent transactions.
But there’s an even more underestimated aspect: the emotional and psychological consequences for those who fall victim to a vishing attack.
The sense of shame at having been deceived, the anxiety related to the violation of one’s privacy, the fear that the attack may repeat itself are just some of the common reactions .
The knowledge of having been betrayed by a voice that seemed to be that of a loved one or a trusted institution creates a profound sense of disorientation .
It’s not uncommon for victims to develop persistent anxiety, distrust of phone calls in general, and difficulty restoring a normal sense of security in their daily lives .
The psychological dimension of vishing is often overlooked, but it represents a crucial element that deserves as much attention as the material damage.
How to defend yourself from vishing
Defending against vishing is still possible, but it requires a prudent, informed, and systematic approach.
The first fundamental rule is never to provide personal, banking, or sensitive information over the phone, regardless of who claims to be calling .
No reputable bank or institution will ever ask for access codes, PINs, or passwords over the phone:
if you receive such a request, it’s almost certainly a scam.
The second essential strategy is to avoid answering calls from unknown numbers , possibly letting them go to voicemail.
If the call is legitimate, the person trying to reach you will leave a message, and you can contact them through official and verified channels.
A particularly important aspect, often underestimated, concerns the words you pronounce during a suspicious call : avoid pronouncing complete sentences or, above all, the word “yes”.
These recordings can in fact be used to further train artificial intelligence and, in some cases, to authorize fraudulent transactions by making it appear that you have given your verbal consent.
If you suspect you have been targeted by a scammer and receive urgent requests for money or sensitive information, the best thing to do is to end the call immediately .
Next, verify the applicant’s identity using an alternative, secure communication channel : call the institution’s or family member’s official number yourself using the contacts saved in your address book, not those provided by the caller.
As for technological prevention, it’s essential to activate spam filters on your smartphone and configure automatic call blocking for unknown or suspicious numbers . Most modern smartphones offer these built-in features, which can be further enhanced with dedicated apps.
Remember that the main weapon used by scammers is to put the victim into a state of agitation, creating false alarms or situations of urgency . In this way, the victim, overcome by panic, becomes more vulnerable and, by acting quickly, performs actions they would hardly do if they were thinking clearly.
