Fraudsters are excellent at adapting to new technologies and finding workarounds to exploit the system for monetary gain. They swindle homeowners after severe weather storms cause property damage and jump in on car accident claims with false injuries. These criminals are hard, though not impossible, to spot in person, but over the phone? They can assume any authoritative identity and fool even the most tech savvy people.

Over 4,000 ransomware attacks occur every day, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Cybercriminals target inboxes and cellphones to obtain personal information with predatory emails and text messages, like the USPS tracking text scams, but these cyber scams can take many forms.

• Spoofing makes phone calls, texts and emails appear like they're coming from a known and trusted source.
• Spamming is sending malicious emails to access a computer.
• Phishing is using fake communication that appears to come from real and reputable sources, typically emails and text messages.
• Robocalls are recorded messages sent with an autodialing software.
• Vishing, voice phishing, targets victims over the phone for data access and financial gain.

Perils of vishing

Employees and policyholders may fall for this type of fraud even if they are well-versed in cyber scams. In February, a financial writer for New York Magazine detailed her hours-long ordeal that ended with her putting $50,000 in a shoebox and placing it in the back of a Mercedes. A South Korean vishing victim surrendered $3 million to cybercriminals after bad cyber actors impersonated local law enforcement, the largest amount ever stolen to date.