Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Our external information technology (IT) person sent an email to our practice warning all our staff to be on the lookout for vishing scams. Can you explain vishing to me?

Ohio Subscriber

Answer: If you’ve heard of “phishing,” you shouldn’t be too surprised to learn about vishing. The FBI has warned that vishing scams are on the rise.

The FBI defines vishing as follows, but learn these other terms, too:

• “Vishing scams happen over the phone, voice email, or VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls.
• “Smishing scams happen through SMS (text) messages.
• “Pharming scams happen when malicious code is installed on your computer to redirect you to fake websites.”

You can read more information on phishing and other scamming techniques at: www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/spoofing-and-phishing.