Vishing is the term used to describe voice phishing.
It’s a form of social engineering attacks used by scammers that call you on your phone with the intent of getting you to give them access to your computer, share your personal information, or send them money.
The following vishing statistics will help you be more aware of it, so you can better protect yourself against it.
Vishing scammers will usually call you and impersonate a trusted company or government entity. They often claim to be with the IRS or Amazon.
When they speak with you on the phone, they will attempt to manipulate you into willingly giving them the information they want.
These scammers are extremely tricky and are adept at manipulation to get what they want from the people they call.
Many times, they prey on the most vulnerable of the global population.
In other words, they seek out people they think can be easily manipulated.
Key Vishing Statistics in 2024
- In 2022, Americans lost $68.4 million to phone scams.
- 33% of Americans have reported having become a victim of phone scams.
- In a 2020 State of the Phish report, 53% of global workers responded, “I don’t know” when asked, “What is vishing?”
- Trellix reported a 142% rise in vishing attacks in 2022.
- 85% of vishing attacks from bad actors are perpetrated via free email services.
- The role of AI tools in vishing attacks are being overestimated so far.
- In late 2022, reports of bad actors using vishing techniques to convince their victims to install malware on their Android phones.
- September 2022 statistics suggest that vishing attacks has risen by nearly 550%.
- 59% of Americans received vishing scam calls in 2021 regarding COVID-19.
- Organizations in Spain experienced a volume of 99% in vishing attacks in 2019.
Vishing Statistics in 2024
What you will read in this section are general phone scams and vishing statistics.
These are important to know to help you be more informed about the seriousness of vishing and how it affects us all.
1. In 2022, Americans Lost $68.4 Million to Phone Scams.
The number of Americans who fell victim to vishing scams has been on the rise since 2017, though this has been a problem for several years.
In 2017, Americans lost over $22 million to vishing.
By 2020, that figure was $56 million and by 2022, Americans lost $68.4 million to these phone scams. Therefore, this is an ever-growing and expanding practice.
It’s worth revealing that this figure is among reported vishing scams only. It doesn’t include those left unreported.
Besides losing $68.4 million due to vishing scams, 26% of Americans claim tht they lost money because of a phone scam.
In comparison, the monetary losses in 2021 accounted for $59.4 million among Americans who reported phone scams.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
2. 33% of Americans Have Reported Having Become a Victim of Phone Scams.
The TrueCaller Insights 2022 U.S. Spam & Spam Report reveals the most about the most recent voice phishing statistics in the United States.
One in three Americans (33%) have reported that they fell victim to phone scams (vishing).
In fact, another 20% of Americans who reported this issue have fallen victim to malicious phone calls more than one time.
For some things, 20% is a low percentage. However, for malicious vishing activities, it’s too high.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
3. In a 2020 State of The Phish Report, 53% of Global Workers Responded, “I Don’t Know” when Asked, “What Is Vishing?”
A whopping 53% of survey respondents among 3,500 adult global workers responded, “I don’t know” to the question, “What is vishing?” So, over half of people working in the world aren’t aware of what vishing is.
Only 25% of respondents answered correctly in 2019, which is when the survey was conducted.
In 2018, only 18% answered correctly, so there is some improvement in awareness of vishing.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
4. In a 2019 Survey, The Age Group with The Most Awareness of Vishing Was Among Those 18 to 22.
The Generation Z age group responded with the most knowledge of what vishing is in the Proofpoint 2019 survey, at 34%.
The specific ages with the highest awareness of vishing fell between the 18 to 22 age group.
Generation X fell within the next highest group at 27%, with Millennials at 26%.
Those aged 55 and over were at 20% of respondents who knew what vishing is.
These percentages are unacceptable when the issue of vishing is so serious.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
5. Trellix Reported a 142% Rise in Vishing Attacks in 2022.
Trellix, a cybersecurity company, shared their research in a 2022 report that revealed that vishing attacks dominated at the end of 2022, showing a rise of 142% compared to the third quarter of 2022.
This is one of the most startling statistics thus far.
A rise this this type of malicious phone scam tactic in a matter of three months is overwhelming.
The report also cited that phishing emails with malicious URLs were the most prevalent attack types by the end of 2022.
(Trellix Report)
6. 85% of Vishing Attacks from Bad Actors Are Perpetrated via Free Email Services.
We usually don’t associate vishing with email, but the biggest percentage of vishing in the final quarter of 2022 came from free email services.
Trellix said they detected 85% of vishing attacks that arose from free email services.
The most popular company impersonations in Q4 2022 vishing campaigns included Amazon, McAfee, PayPal, Norton, and Geek Squad.
If you haven’t received an impersonation email from at least one of these companies, you are fortunate.
(Trellix Report)
7. The Role of AI Tools in Vishing Attacks Are Being Overestimated so Far.
Even though AI tools are smarter than ever, and they are more convincing and accurate than they used to be, the overarching community has been overestimating its role in vishing schemes.
AI tools are used in some vishing campaigns.
While these tools are emerging, they are still not quite as threatening as standard robocalls, and humans impersonating companies.
In fact, Steve Povolny, Trellix director and principal engineer said that the efficacy of AI tools falls short.
(TechTarget)
8. In Late 2022, Reports of Bad Actors Using Vishing Techniques to Convince Their Victims to Install Malware on Their Android Phones.
This data was made worldwide news by October 2022 when it was discovered that malicious actors decided to use vishing tactics to get people to download and install an Android banking app that is malware.
This vishing campaign was uncovered by analysts that noticed that it was targeting Italian banks and their account holders.
The campaign was sophisticated, directing victims to a wide variety of phishing sites that were used to impersonate multiple Italian banking services.
(The Hacker News, Threat Fabric)
9. September 2022 Statistics Suggest that Vishing Attacks Has Risen by Nearly 550%.
Data from September 2022 shows that vishing cases rose by roughly 550% between the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022.
This represents an over 5 times rise in vishing attacks in only one year.
Moreover, the reports found that social media impersonation attacks are also growing, with an increase of 339% in brand impersonation volume and a 273% increase in executive impersonation volume.
Even the hybrid campaigns that use vishing represent a whopping 26% in volume.
(Community Central, PhishLabs)
10. 59% of Americans Received Vishing Scam Calls in 2021 Regarding COVID-19.
The pandemic was like the perfect opportunity for vishers and they took full advantage of it in America.
A massive 59% of Americans got scam calls about COVID-19 in 2021. Only 41% did not get these scam calls.
This hasn’t been just a problem for Americans since it the pandemic was a global opportunity.
It’s predicted that these phone calls will continue into 2023 at least. We should all be aware of this vishing campaign.
(TrueCaller, 2021)
Vishing Statistics by Country
This section is dedicated to vishing statistics by country.
11. In Australia, the Volume of Vishing Attacks Experienced Came to 57% in 2019.
Australian organizations also faced 66% in social attacks, and 62% in smishing attacks.
Overall, 83% of all organizations experienced vishing attacks in 2019.
A Proofpoint survey of over 3,500 employed adults in seven countries, including Australia, reported that the volume of vishing attacks in Australia amounted to 57%.
Also, over 600 IT security experts across seven countries, including Australia were surveyed to get distinct perspectives about phishing, vishing, smishing, and other malicious cyberattacks.
Australian organizations also fell victim to social attacks and smishing along with the vishing problem.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
12. Organizations in Spain Experienced a Volume of 99% in Vishing Attacks in 2019.
Spanish organizations in 2019 were the most apt to experience alternative social engineering attacks.
These alternatives included vishing, social and smishing (100%) and weaponized USB drives (98%).
Again, Spain is included in the seven countries where the Proofpoint survey was conducted in 2019.
The report covers all factors of phishing that are designed with malicious intent.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
13. Fewer than 25% of International Organizations Offer Tools, Training, or Resources to Raise Awareness About Vishing.
The most-used tool used for vishing and smishing is simulations.
Overall, only 60% of global organizations offer any formal cybersecurity training or education.
This issue results in the lack of reporting of such incidences.
To raise awareness of cybersecurity concerns, regardless of the form, global organizations need to education and train their employees better.
Many times, threats occur because an employee opened a phishing email because they thought it was an inter-office email.
That’s how sneaky phishing actors are.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
14. French Survey Respondents to The Question, “What Is Vishing” Scored the Highest at 48% Correct.
Either organizations in France are more aware of their cybersecurity and vishing, smishing, phishing and other malicious attacks, or workers in France are just more aware in general.
Either way, France won the highest score at 48% of survey respondents in 2019 who answered the “What is vishing?” question correctly.
Only 19% of respondents in the United States answered correctly, while Germany came in last at 17%.
(Proofpoint 2020 State of the Phish)
15. In Singapore, Vishing and Smishing Are Seeing Growth Even Though Email Phishing Is Still Scammers’ Favorite Attack Tactic.
Cybercriminals are getting more creative as detection, awareness, and protective measures are being used in the phishing, vishing, and smishing realm.
In Singapore, email phishing is still fraudster’s favorite malicious method of gaining access to personal data, there is a rise in vishing and smishing.
What’s causing this growth in vishing and smishing?
The fact that these scammers must be sneakier and more creative about their methods of attack.
Therefore, since companies in Singapore are less aware of vishing and smishing, scammers are using these tactics to get what they want.
(CIO)
Vishing Demographics
The focus in the section is on vishing attacks among age groups, genders, types of vishing tactics, and behavior post-attack.
16. In America, Men Are More Likely to Fall Victim to Vishing than Women.
An overwhelming 55.6% of men fell victim to vishing attacks (phone scams) between 2021 and 2022.
This data comes from a survey conducted by TrueCaller Insights and Harris Poll.
In the same period, 42.2% of women fell victim to phone scams, and of the non-binary or prefer not to reveal gender option, 2.3% said they were victimized by a vishing campaign.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
17. The Age Group Most Affected by Vishing Is the 18 to 44 Demographics.
You might have suspected that the older age groups would be the most affected by vishing attacks, but instead the statistics reveal that it’s mostly Generation Z and Millennials.
Here’s the breakdown between age and gender combined.
- 18 to 34: 34% women, 46% men
- 35 to 44: 32% women, 51% men
- 45 to 54: 15% women, 24% men
- 55 to 64: 8% women, 10% men
- 65 and over: 11% women 9% men
While the younger generations are getting targeted more and falling victim more to vishing, the percentages rise some at the 55-64 age demographic.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
18. Robocalls Are Still the Biggest Vishing Issue in The United States.
Unfortunately, robocalls have been around for many years.
You would think that this form of vishing would fade away, but because it’s so successful for scammers, they still use it.
In America, robocalls remain the biggest problem.
We have some percentages to show you comparing the loss of money due to robocalls between 2019 and 2022.
- 2019: 59.8% of victims lost money due to robocalls.
- 2020: 61.5% of victims lost money due to robocalls.
- 2021: 60% of victims lost money due to robocalls.
- 2022: 61.1% of victims lost money due to robocalls.
Notice that the figures are similar. That’s because robocalls remain the steadiest of all phone scams. The fluctuations are small.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
19. In 2022, 43% of Victims Scammed by Vishing Downloaded Caller ID or Spam Blockers to Their Phones.
Of all the actions taken after a victim is scammed by vishing tactics, downloaded either caller ID or spam block apps are number one at 43% in 2022.
In 2021, 44% of victims of phone scams did the same.
Other actions taken after being a victim of phone scams included:
- Changed their credit card number or canceled their credit card: 37% in 2022; 31% in 2021
- Checked their phone bill: 29% in 2022; 33% in 2021
- They contacted their phone carrier: 26% in 2021 and 2022
- They reported the incident to the authorities: 30% in 2022; 31% in 2021
- Victims signed up for credit card monitoring and protection: 31% in 2022; 22% in 2021
- Googled the number that called or used reverse look up trying to identify caller: 27% in 2022; 24% in 2021
- Changed their phone number: 26% in 2022; 22% in 2021
- Registered their phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry: 24% in 2022; 21% in 2021
Only 6% in 2022 did nothing compared to 7% who did nothing in 2021.
Survey respondents who answered “other” accounted for 5% in 2022 and 4% in 2021.
We wanted our readers to see the difference in behaviors between 2021 and 2022 among those who fell victim to phone scams.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
20. The Hispanic Community Fell Victim to Vishing Attacks More than Other Ethnicities at 74%
While Hispanics aren’t targeted as often as Caucasians and African Americans, they lost money more often at 74%.
This is the percentage of this ethic group that fell victim to scam calls.
Putting this in perspective, white people (65%) and black people (43%) fell victim to vishing tactics and were the most targeted groups.
Scammers count on demographics and profiling to choose their targets.
Apparently, non-Hispanic white people are more apt to answer callers they can identify more than Hispanics and African Americans.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
Bonus Vishing Statistics
Anything we haven’t discussed in previous sections will be addressed here.
21. In 2022, Neighbor Spoofing Vishing Increased to 51% in America.
Because some people won’t answer an unknown caller call, vishers have gotten craftier by using local area codes and neighbor spoofing numbers to increase the chances of a pickup.
When survey respondents were asked if they thought this scheme increased or decreased over the past year, an overwhelming 51% answered increased.
More responses included 35% who claimed the volume of neighbor spoofing stayed the same and 7% said there was a decrease in these calls.
Even after legislation mandated the Stir/Shaken protocol, this issue still increased. The expectation was to see a decrease.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
22. 65% of American Survey Respondents Said They Would Be More Likely to Answer an Unknown Number if They Can Identify It as A Trusted Organization.
Trusted organizations include known businesses, schools, delivery services, contractors, hospitals, airlines, etc.
Among Americans surveyed a surprising 65% said they would answer an unknown call if it was easily identified as an important entity.
On the other hand, 35% said they would be no more apt to answer even if the number was from a recognized organization.
Consequently, younger people between 18 and 44 (76%) are more apt to answer unknown numbers that are easily identified compared to 56% of individuals aged 45 and over.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
23. In 2020, 241,342 Victims of Phishing, Vishing, Smishing, or Pharming Were Reported to The FBI.
In the newest report newly released by the FBI, 323,972 reports of phishing, smishing, vishing, or pharming victims.
Note the rise in these attacks of 82,630 incidents.
Looking back to 2017, where there were 25,344 and 2018, where there were 26,379 reported cases, we can see the growth of malicious attacks.
Even in 2019, the FBI report showed 114,702 cases of vishing, phishing, smishing, and pharming victims.
This includes those who lost money due to these crimes.
(FBI Internet Crime Report 2020, FBI Internet Crime Report 2021)
24. The 2021 FBI Internet Crime Report Revealed a Loss of $44,213,707 Due to Phishing, Vishing, Smishing, and Pharming Attacks.
Over $44 million was lost by victims of a variety of campaigns used in phishing, vishing, smishing, and pharming attacks.
In the 2020 report, the loss accounted for $54,241,075, which is more than in 2021.
The FBI reports describe phishing, vishing, smishing, and pharming as the use of unsolicited phone calls, emails, and text messages mimicking legitimate companies.
They ask you for financial data, personal information, or even login credentials to your accounts.
A sense of urgency is a telltale sign that these instances are fake.
(FBI Internet Crime Report 2020, FBI Internet Crime Report 2021)
25. It’s Believed that Robocalls and Vishing Campaigns (spam Calls) Have Created Such Distrust in American Society that 60% of Americans Would Rather Communicate Through Alternate Channels.
An overwhelming 60% of Americans say they prefer to use alternate methods of communication like social media messaging and apps and text messages.
It’s believed the current state of vishing attacks and robocalls have created such distrust that people would rather avoid phone calls.
The precise reasons for people choosing to use alternative forms of communication instead of phone calls is unknown.
However, 63% of Americans believe that they could miss important, legitimate phone calls due to the spread of spam calls.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
26. 97% of The 2,045 Surveyed Americans Claim They Have Gotten a Robocall.
The statistics revealed that in 2021, 97 of 2,045 surveyed Americans received robocalls in the past year.
Only 3% claim that over the past year, they have received no robocalls.
What kind of robocalls were prevalent?
- Automobile warranties: 60%
- Medicare: 37%
- Legal fines or tax money owed: 34%
- Bundled mobile, cable, or satellite services: 32%
- Lottery/Sweepstakes: 30%
- IRS: 29%
- Suspended social security number: 29%
- Cryptocurrency investing 14%
Remember that these are fake calls, not legitimate phone calls.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
27. The Highest Percentage of Robotexts Sent to Americans at 32% Was Regarding “notice of Data Breach”, Identity Theft Texts.
Robotexts may not be as intrusive as robocalls, but they are still prevalent and annoying.
The TrueCaller Insights 2022 survey revealed that 85% of Americans claimed to receive robotexts over the past year, while 15% said they didn’t get any.
Here is a list of the most used robotexts:
- Notice of data breach, identity theft: 32%
- Offers for bundled internet, cable, mobile services: 30%
- Retail discount gift cards: 30%
- Password change: 21%
- Cybersecurity software: 19%
- Cryptocurrency deals: 18%
Again, these texts are fake or impersonations of real companies.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
28. Spam Calls Target American Seniors Aged 65 and Over.
Each month, senior citizens in America are slammed with spam calls and vishing campaigns.
Naturally, scammers think that people over 65 are more vulnerable and willing to give up their information if coerced.
In fact, over the past year, 66% of seniors in America have reported getting higher volumes of spam calls in comparison to the year before.
While seniors are a highly targeted group, younger people are more apt to lose money due to vishing.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
29. Seniors Are Also Targeted for Text Spam More than Other Age Groups.
While malicious text messaging is considered smishing, it’s still over the phone.
Just like vishing, smishing attacks target seniors more than any other age group in America. Sadly, text spam has doubled in recent years.
Regardless of whether it’s a phone call or a text message, America’s seniors are targeted the most, while their younger counterparts are the most victimized,
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
30. Spam Calls and Messages Are Highest Among Men Aged 65 and Over.
Spam calls fall under the umbrella of vishing campaigns, which are known to target seniors the most.
However, men receive the highest volume of spam calls over 65 (55.4%) compared to women (46.3%) in the same age group.
The least targeted group for spam calls are males aged 18 to 34.
Like spam calls, spam messages are highest among seniors 65 and over, Men are targeted at 30.8% and women 65 and over by 20.3%.
Interestingly, the 45 to 54 age group outnumber women 65 and older in spam message volume.
Men and women in the 45 to 54 demographics are equally targeted 20.9% of the time.
(TrueCaller Insights 2022)
FAQs
What Do Successful Vishing Attacks Depend On?
Vishers are professional scammers who use social engineering, text messages, voice-altering programs, and fake phone numbers to trick you into giving them your confidential information.
Vishing is commonly a voice call tactic. They rely on their own wiles and wits to manipulate vulnerable people.
What Is the Most Common Vishing Call?
The most usual form of vishing is when the scammer impersonates a government official, coworker, client, or trusted company.
The goal of these fraudsters is to get information like your Social Security number or other confidential information.
What Are Other Terms Used Instead of Vishing?
Vishing isn’t the only term used for phone scams. It’s also referred to as voice phishing.
It combines phishing with voice/phone calls and texts. You may also see vishing referred to as mobile phishing.
Is Vishing Common?
Sadly, vishing is one of the most common forms of scams.
Vishing offenders are more sophisticated and advanced, which means we need to be more informed and discreet about sharing any information over the phone, via email, or through text.
They are also very creative and convincing.
What’s the Difference Between Vishing and Smishing?
Briefly and simply put, vishing is done over the phone (mobile, VoIP, or landline), while smishing is done over text messaging.
They both fall under the phishing category, which is primarily delivered via email or through fraudulent websites.
They just have terms for various forms of phishing according to the delivery method to differentiate between them.
Where Do Most Vishing, Smishing, and Phishing Attacks Come From?
According to Trellix’s 2022 threat report, the primary threat actors come from Russia, China, and North Korea.
You may not be able to uncover where vishing, smishing, or phishing attacks are coming from, but the data from Trellix gives us that data.
How Can You Identify Vishing?
The more you know, the less apt you are to fall victim to these malicious actors and their malevolent phone calls.
Learn how to recognize a fake phone call. For instance, when the caller hangs up after one ring or if the offer sounds too good to be true.
Also, if the caller isn’t someone you know and asks for your personal information, don’t give it out to them.
The best thing to do is to never, ever provide any personal information over the phone.
Beware of any caller that uses a forceful or demanding, urgent tone with you.
This is a sign of a scammer trying to scare you into giving them information.
Watch out for calls from government agencies since these are commonly impersonation vishing campaigns.
Conclusion
The main takeaway from this information is to never give out your personal information over your phone.
Besides that, you need to stay in communication with your own bank account representatives, credit card companies, and strictly and regularly monitor your accounts.
The biggest rise in vishing occurred between 2020 (54%) and 2021 (69%).
In 2022, vishing was found to be more frequent, happening over one-in-four times as compared to all other types of these response-based threats.
According to statistics, voice phishing (vishing) had increased sevenfold in Q2 2022.
If nothing else alarms you about vishing, this should.
We hope you have learned more about vishing and feel more informed about this kind of phone spam call.
These tricksters use a variety of methods to encourage or force people to give them the information they way.
While certain groups of people and certain countries experience higher volumes of vishing than others, the world population needs to take precautions to avoid this problem.
Too much money is lost and too much trauma is experienced in vishing and cybercrimes of all types.
If you take away anything from this vishing statistics article, it should be to be informed about this issue, be prepared, and protect yourself.