Scam communications using electronic communications services - What type of scams use electronic communications services?

Scams based on electronic communications services (ECS) comprise malicious communications sent through various types of communications, including phone calls, SMS, email or online messages. In such communications, the scammer typically claims to be from a trusted entity such as a bank, government department, postal operator or e-commerce site, and uses the communication to induce the recipient to reveal sensitive, personal or financial information.

In such scams, one often comes across the term ‘phishing’, which is used to refer to tactics used by the scammer to ‘lure’ (like in traditional fishing, but the bait would be a special offer or an urgent request) the target victim to share personal, financial or sensitive information, such as PINs, passwords or other credentials, which is then used to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ‘vishing’ is used to refer to phishing scams based on voice-calls, whereas ‘smishing’ refers to scams that use SMS as their means of communication.