Beware of Avaya Phishing Scam

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This past week, two Washington, DC based Teltek customers have reported that someone has contacted their office representing themselves as an Avaya employee. In these calls the caller stating that “the Avaya phone system they [customer] are using has been discontinued and they must upgrade to be able to get support”. In both cases this was reported to Teltek and it was determined to be an untrue accusation. We believe this is simply a phishing exercise where someone is distinguishing the truth to fool businesses into upgrading their phone systems.

What is Phishing?

Wikipedia defines it as:  The act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

How to prevent Phishing:

• Ensure that you information is coming from a valid source. This should be an Avaya employee or honest and reliable certified Avaya Business Partner.
• Check the Avaya Partner Locator: http://www.avaya.com/usa/partner-locator/
• Try cross referencing the person’s name on LinkedIn
• Search the web to validate the information you are being told – Avaya publishes all “End of Sale” and “End of Support” announcements on the web
• Be careful not to give out information via the phone or email to someone that you don’t know
• Request proof of Avaya Business Partner Accreditation
• Search the domain address of the person’s email (i.e. the “@xxxx.com” part to see if it leads you back to a reputable site.

Remember it is essential that you purchase your Avaya hardware and software from a certified Avaya Business Partner in order to be eligible for software upgrades and support. This is truer than ever with software release 8.1 and the new roll out of IPOSS (Required Avaya Support).

To learn more about Avaya, how to prevent from being a victim of a Phishing scam, IPOSS and/or the Avaya IP Office Phone System contact Teltek today. As a trustworthy second-generation business and Certified Avaya SMB Expert, you can trust that you are getting reliable and honest information.

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