As a business owner, you’ve done your due diligence and installed network and web security tools to prevent identity theft, ransomware, and various other fraudulent schemes aimed at targeting your assets and finances.  But did you know there is a new threat on the rise known as Call Hacking that requires a completely different set of prevention tools?  

Call Hacking (also known as PBX Hacking) involves an unauthorized third party gaining access to your phone lines through your business PBX system and placing international and long distance calls (upwards of $3-4 per minute)--at the expense of your business.

Read below for immediate steps that you can take to help prevent your company from falling victim to Call Hacking.  

#1- Change Your Voicemail Passwords-  Hackers typically gain access to your phone lines by hacking into voice mailboxes.  It is very important to update your voicemail passwords frequently, and do not use predictable passwords such as the last four digits of your DID (direct dial number), your extension number, or 0000, 1234, 123456, etc.  Always use the max amount of voicemail password characters allowed for your phone system.  

#2- Disable or Restrict Voicemail ‘Call Thru’-  Once hackers have access to a voice mailbox, they use a feature called ‘Call Thru’ to access your phone lines and change the Transfer Type to 011 IDD (International Direct Dialing) to allow for international call transferring.  Contact your PBX vendor to disable the ‘Call Thru’ feature completely or ask them to apply international call forwarding port restrictions. 

Continue reading for additional Call Hacking prevention tips.

Since 1979, ACC Telecom has specialized in business telecommunications throughout the Baltimore- Washington Metropolitan area.  ACC Telecom is a PBX phone system, phone service, and security telecommunications company headquartered in Columbia, MD and serves businesses throughout the region.  Visit https://www.acctelecom.com for a complete list of products and services.