The Most Alarming Vishing Statistics You Need to Know in 2023
Beware of the siren call of vishing schemes out to sink your organization. Vishing, or voice phishing, uses the power of persuasion over the phone to manipulate and exploit. Savvy social engineers are getting scarily skilled at posing as trusted associates to hook sensitive data. Don't take the bait. As per 2021 data, 59.49 million Americans (23% of the total population at that time) lost money to fishing. That was only the US data and 2021.
Arm yourself with facts - we've rounded up crucial vishing statistics to shed light on this underhanded hack. You'll uncover how vishing sinks companies to the tune of millions and compromises their data big time. Forewarned is forearmed. Spread awareness now to help your organization steer clear of the turbulent cybercriminal waters ahead. Let's proceed.
- 33% of America's population fell victim to scams at least once.
- Americans lose around $39.5 billion in 2022 and $29.8 billion in 2021.
- The 2019 survey reveals that the 18-22 demographic recorded the highest awareness of vishing.
- Trellix reports a 142% increase in growth of vishing attacks in Q4 2022.
- Vishing attacks are resurgent and shockingly on the rise by 550% in 2022.
- American men are more susceptible to vishing attacks than women.
- 68.4 million people lost to phone spam in the US in 2022.
- Organizations in Spain experienced 99% vishing attacks in 2019.
- Neighbour Spoofing Vishing grew to 51% in the US in 2022.
Visitors may call victims pretending to come from a legitimate company to deceive them into exposing personal information. The statistics below will show the rate of vishing scams, especially those done using phones. It would reveal intriguing general statistics on vishing, preventive measures, and how it affects the global population.
1. The Number of People Who Have Lost Money To Phone Scams in the United States of America in 2022 Accounts for 68.4 Million.According to TrueCaller Insights 2022 US Spam & Scam Report, 68.4 million US citizens lost money to phone scams. This figure indicates a 23% increase in Americans lost to phone fraud in 2021 (59.4 million). 26% of Americans (about 56 million) reported falling victim to phone scams in 2020. Individuals lose lots of money to phone scams as scammers use various ways to extort your money over the phone. Some habitual phone scams include imposter scams, business and investment scams, tech support scams, charity scams, and loan scams, amongst others.
2. Out of 3 Americans Who Have Fallen Victim to a Scam at Least Once, They account for 33% of America's population.According to the TrueCaller Insights 2022 report, Americans who lost money to phone scams account for 33% of the population in America. 1 out of every 3 Americans confirm falling victim to vishing carried out by spiteful scammers at least once. About 20% of Americans acknowledged falling victim to phone scams more than once, which is high for a fraudulent act. Although the rate of vishing distends, not all vishing cases are reported.
3. Around $39.5 Billion in 2022 and $29.8 Billion in 2021 Were Lost to Vishing in the United States of America.Over the years, fishers devised modern schemes to attack individuals and companies' employees, resulting in more losses for US citizens. TrueCaller Insights US Spam & Scam Report shows $39.5 billion lost to phone scams by US citizens. This figure points to a 32.5% increase in the loss from 2021, amounting to $29.8 billion. The figure above signifies a 49.7% rise on the $19.7 billion lost in 2020. The average financial loss resulting from a vishing attack by an individual was $502, indicating a 43% rise from 2020.
4. Only 53% of Global Workers did not Know About Vishing in 2020, But Are Eight Times More Enlightened in 2023.Since there are many reported cases of vishing in the US, only a few people know about vishing and its dangers. Some global workers, when asked what vishing is, gave a negative response, while some knew vishing. The 2020 report from State of the Phish by Proofpoint shows that 53% of global workers are unaware of vishing. The report reveals only 42% of international workers take precautions to protect themselves against fishers.
State of the Phish 2023 report reveals users are eight times more informed of vishing dangers across 15 countries than in the past years. The report is from a survey of 1,050 IT professionals and 7,500 global workers across 15 countries. The informationalso discovered there are specific measures organizations and individuals should take to protect themselves against vishing attacks. Some steps are educating employees on ways to identify vishing, implementing multi-factor authentication, and reporting vishing attacks to the authorities.
5. Young Adults Between the Ages of 18-22 Recorded the Highest Awareness of Vishing in a 2019 Survey.According to a survey by Proofpoint in 2019, the early adults were most knowledgeable about the term vishing. People within 18-22 age groups were the most informed and accounted for 34%, while the 27% fell between 41-56 years. Also, 20% of people over 55 and 26% between ages 27-42 knew about vishing.
6. Vishing, Among the Top 5 Types of Phishing, Ranks Third Most Prevalent By 27% In 2020.Vishing is one of the most ubiquitous cybercrimes ever reported, with 27% records among other crimes resulting from data breaches. This was according to a survey done by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society in 2020. The Cost Of A Data Breach Report by IBM in 2022 confirms the average vishing loss grew to $10.10 million. The report also recorded the highest data breach cost in the past 12 years.
7. 142% Disturbing Growth in Vishing Attacks Recorded Towards the End of 2022 Revealed by Trellix Report.In a report realized by a cybersecurity company, Trellix, vishing attacks grew by 142% towards the end of the year. Vishing attacks were significantly high and overwhelming compared to the third quarter. The report also indicated that phishing emails with malicious URLs were the form of phishing with the highest attacks.
8. Trellix Confirms that 85% of Vishing Attacks Are From Free Email Services in 2022.Although vishing is primarily tied to voice communication rather than email, a greater percentage of vishing emanates from free email. These statistics came from a Quarter 4 2022 report. According to a Trellix report, 85% of vishing attacks came from free email services, especially in the final quarter of 2022. Below are the companies with the most impersonations in the vishing campaigns in the fourth quarter of 2022;
- Amazon
- McAfee
- PayPal
- Norton
- Geek Squad.
New emerging tools like AI tools are helpful in vishing campaigns. Standard robocalls and human impersonating companies are more threatening than AI tools. AI tools have been overestimated for vishing plots. Although the AI tools are smarter, more convincing, and more accurate than you know, they can't be compared to other vishing schemes. The director and principal engineer of Trellix, Steve Povolny, revealed that the effectiveness of AI tools for vishing attacks is inadequate.
10. Malicious Vishers Deployed Vishing Techniques to Deceive Victims into Installing Malicious Malware on Their Mobile Devices in the Third Quarter of 2022.Statistics from worldwide news in October 2022 exposed the latest schemes by attackers. It revealed that fishers get individuals to download malware camouflaged as an Android banking app through their tactics. Analysts have statedthat Italian banks and their account holders were the primary targets for anglers in vishing campaigns. Several people fell victim to many phishing sites impersonating Italian banking services as the campaign was sophisticated. ThreatFabric Mobile Threat Intelligence Team said in an interview with The Hacker News that the attacks require more resources. Recent fraud attacks have introduced new schemes like the Android malware campaign, unlike the old methods like Google Play Store.
11. Vishing Attacks Are Resurgent and Shockingly Rising by 550% in 2022.Hybrid vishing is the type of vishing with the highest percentage rise from 2021 to 2022, indicating a 266% rise. Hybrid vishing involves both voice and email communication as the method scammers deploy to carry out vishing attacks. The Federal Trade Commission says over $1.2 billion to voice phishing scams with the rate of attacks increasingly high. According to the Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report, vishing cases between 2021 and 2022 increased by over 550%. The reporters Agari and PhishLabs discovered thousands of phishing threats and ways to shape the landscape of the threat.
12. Around 58% of Americans Received Spam Calls in 2022, More Than the Previous Year.TrueCaller Insights 2022 US Spam and Scam Report indicates that 58% of Americans received more spam calls in 2022. This implies that 3 out of 5 Americans received more spam calls than in 2021, while 14% acquired fewer calls. In 2022, a monthly average of 31 spam calls was received, with an average of 21.5 calls being robocalls. About 86% of Americans attempted to pick up calls from numbers they could identify. 67% of people in the US would not take spam calls from unidentified numbers, while 41% of Americans never got spam calls. Meanwhile, 65% would ignore spam messages. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 was an opportunity for visitors to target victims.
13. Monthly Average Spam Calls Received by Americans Above 65 Years is Estimated to Be 50.4 In 2022.The average number of spam calls received by US citizens aged 65 and above in 2022 is 50.4. This number is relatively high compared to the 20.3 average monthly spam calls received by those aged 18-34.
Below are the average monthly spam calls received by Americans in 2022 and the age groups.
| Age group | Average Monthly Spam calls received |
| 18-34 | 20.3 |
| 35-44 | 22.3 |
| 45-54 | 29.8 |
| 55-64 | 33.8 |
| 65 and above | 50.4 |
The statistics below unveil fascinating vishing statistics by countries:
14. Vishing Attacks Were Estimated to be 57% In Australia In 2019.A notable 83% of all organizations admitted to experiencing vishing attacks in 2019. A survey by Proofpoint on over 3,500 employees across seven countries, Australia inclusive, shows the vishing attacks rate estimated at 57%. Over 600 IT security experts participated in the survey to unveil the impact of cybercrimes, such as smishing. Aside from vishing attacks, Australian organizations were exposed to cybercrimes like social attacks, smishing, and other cyber attacks.
15. Spanish Organizations Experienced a Shocking 99% Viral Attack in 2019.Proofpoint 2020: The State of the Phish report says organizations in Spain experienced 99% of vishing scams in 2019. The survey focused on seven countries, including Spain, which experienced social cyberattacks like vishing and smishing. The report points to various factors of phishing developed to carry out cybercrimes.
16. About 60% of UK Organizations Are Most Likely to Create Awareness Training, tools, or Resources on Vishing.The reason most organizations do not offer training, resources, or tools on vishing awareness is a lack of reporting vishing cases. Only about 60% of global organizations educate their users formally on fishing. According to the 2020 State of the Phish report, 98% of international organizations invest about 30 minutes in training on vishing. 15% of organizations dedicate more hours yearly to enlighten people on vishing attacks. Additionally, organizations in Australia offer vishing awareness training and tools for their users at least once a year.
Vishing Demographics
There is a disparity in gender drawing from the vishing attack statistics. The statistics uncover the vulnerability of different genders, not negating the fact that anyone can fall prey to vishing attacks. Some statistical data shows that 59.4% of men got scammed through spam calls, and 38.3% accounted for women. However, a small percentage of 2.3% did not disclose their gender.
18. The 18-44 Age Group is the Most Affected Age Group by Dubious Vishing Attacks.Although the older age groups (65+) are the most targeted, the 18-44 group is the most affected. The younger generation is more vulnerable to scams, but some percentage falls in the 55-64 age group. The table below shows a breakdown of the rate of vishing attacks by percentage, gender categorization, and age group;
| Demographic | Gender | |
| Female (%) | Male (%) | |
| 18-34 | 34 | 46 |
| 35-44 | 32 | 51 |
| 45-54 | 15 | 24 |
| 55-64 | 8 | 10 |
| 65+ | 11 | 9 |
These statistics show the 18-44 age group is the most affected by vishing attacks.
Bonus Vishing Statistics
Neighbour spoofing, the new crafty vishing tactics, involves using local area codes to heighten their chances of attacks. Due to awareness of individuals not taking unknown calls, vishers introduced neighbor spoofing. According to TrueCaller Insights 2022, 51% of respondents to a survey admitted the rate of neighbor spoofing increased. Additionally, 35% more responses stated the number was the same, while 7% concurred to a decrease in the act.
20. Speculations Arise As 60% of Americans Have Distrust in Taking Strange Calls As Robocalls and Vishing Campaigns Have Left Them With No Option Than Using Alternative Communication Channels.Many believe the high rate of vishing attacks and robocalls has created much distrust in American citizens. About 60% of Americans would text or communicate on social media messaging applications rather than phone calls. Conflictingly, as a result of the widespread spam calls, 63% of Americans believe they could miss important calls.
ConclusionVishing is undeniably a catastrophic attack for individuals, companies, and businesses. Visitors (voice scammers) use mischievous tactics to lure companies or individuals to give them confidential information. It is not a new scheme but a greater reoccurrence with fishers applying new advanced concepts to prey victims.
Statistics show that people have billions of dollars in vishing attacks over the years. While these numbers may not decrease, understanding vishing statistics could help understand the impact and threat of these schemes on victims. The statistics represent individuals, businesses, and companies that have suffered several losses, identity theft, and more dangers associated with vishing. Notably, in this digital age, awareness is paramount in helping people identify vishing scams and guard against them.
FAQsWhat is vishing?Vishing is a form of social engineering or cybercrime where scammers use voice communication to steal individuals' or companies' sensitive data. Vishing is a word derived from voice," and phishing" is considered a type of phishing.
Are vishing attacks common?Vishing attacks are one of the most common forms of scams and experience resurgence yearly. Those perpetrators use sophisticated schemes, raising the need for increased awareness of data safety and security. Vishers can attack any company employee or individual, especially youths and older people. Some statistical data shows 7 out of 10 respondents have experienced a vishing attack.
What are the common ways fraudsters carry out their scam schemes?The most common forms of vishing are bank impersonation, catfishing, loan or investment or loan scams, and Medicare scams. IRS Tax Scam is another vishing scheme deployed by scammers to take advantage of its victims. By the bank impersonation method, the scammer emails or calls the victim, pretending to be from the bank, using a fake number. Through catfishing, the fraudster manipulates victims to release sensitive information using fake profiles on dating websites. By loan or investment offer scams, the fraudsters present schemes that look real to attract victims. By Medicare scams, the vishers regularly request victims' Medicare numbers or bank details to extort them.
How can I safeguard myself, my business, or my organization from Vishing scams?To stay guarded from vishing scams, you must be cautious of taking calls from unidentified numbers who ask for sensitive information. Also, avoid sharing confidential details like bank details, passwords, and credit card details with people you do not know. Lastly, be updated with vishing scams, trends, and tactics.
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