Bob the Cyber-Guy’s Cyber Safety Tip #122

“Your Voicemail Can Be a Back Door”

Most people protect their email.
Most people protect their bank account.
Very few people protect their voicemail.

Scammers know this.

🚨 What’s the hidden risk?

Many services still use voicemail for account recovery:

• Password reset codes

• “We just sent you a verification call”

• Security confirmations

If a criminal:

• Steals your phone number (SIM-swap), or

• Accesses an unprotected voicemail

They can intercept reset codes and take over:

• Email accounts

• Financial accounts

• Social media

• Cloud services

No malware needed. No hacking wizardry. Just voicemail.

⚠️ Common mistakes scammers exploit

• Default voicemail PIN (often 0000 or 1234)

• No PIN at all

• Voicemail accessible from any phone

• Reusing the same PIN as your bank card (yes, people do this)

✅ Simple protection steps (5 minutes total)

• Set a strong voicemail PIN (not birthdays or repeats)

• Disable “remote voicemail access” if you don’t use it

• Don’t allow voicemail to store security codes when possible

• Use text or app-based verification instead of voice calls

 🧠 Cyber-Bob’s rule of thumb

If your voicemail answers before you do, it deserves a lock.

Voicemail was designed for convenience — not security.

That makes it an attractive shortcut for criminals.

 (I created the prompt, ChatGPT created the information.)