
Phishers have added a new component in their efforts to gain their victims' bank account information--Internet telephony. A San Francisco-based security firm disclosed that it has discovered a phishing con in which the grifters <A HREF="http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=43038">use Voice over IP</A> (VoIP) technology to record data from banks' automated voice systems. According to messaging-security firm Cloudmark, the swindlers send out emails in which they pose as a victim's bank. The messages claim that there is a problem with the user's bank account and provide a number to call to enter personal information about the account. Targeted victims who call the number included in the email are connected via VoIP to a computer running an automated voice-answering system that sounds just like a bank's phone tree.