Cyberattacks are on the rise. Cybercriminals take advantage of human emotions and our basic instinct to trust.
Many federal agencies have issued fraud advisory alerts to warn customers of increased scam activity due to COVID-19--hackers using the global pandemic to their advantage.
The most common hacker attacks are phishing email scams and phone scams. Here are a few tips on how to recognize and avoid becoming a victim.
- Phishing Email Scams
A phishing attack happens when someone tries to trick you into sharing personal information online. The email or site will ask you to click on a link in the email that could lead to installing malware on your computer or it may ask for personal information like your username and password, social security number, bank account number, etc. Legitimate companies will never ask you to provide this type of information in an email.
To avoid becoming a victim of a phishing email never click any links and never provide personal information until you can confirm the email is real.
Report any email you identify as phishing or suspicious. If you have an HHS email, forward the phishing email to spam@hhs.gov and delete the email from your Inbox and then from your Deleted Items folder.
- Phone scams and Robo Calls
The most common phone scams involve individuals pretending to be someone of trust to get money or personal information from you. Callers will impersonate Social Security Administration or IRS agents to get access to your financial information. It’s a robocall if you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person. Most robocalls are illegal. Scammers and telemarketers can make robocalls over the internet from anywhere in the world. They often use spoofing — creating a fake the name and number that shows up to make it look like the call is from a government agency, or a local number.
The FTC keeps an updated list of common phone scams here.
If you receive a suspicious call: |
· HANG UP! |
· DO NOT GIVE THEM MONEY OR PERSONAL INFORMATION! |
· REPORT SOCIAL SECURITY SCAMS AT OIG.SSA.GOV |
· REPORT OTHER IMPOSTER SCAMS AT FTC.GOV/COMPLAINT. |
- Preventative measures to help avoid becoming a scam victim
- Be aware of offers that seem “Too good to be true “
- Ignore or block phone calls that do not come from a trusted source, friend or family member.
- DO NOT give out personal information to anyone via email, phone, or text messages.
- Never send money to be awarded a grant or to collect a prize.
- Be wary of phone calls, text and emails that warn you about your account security, and ask you to submit sensitive information.
Unfortunately, scammers will stop at nothing to try and trick you into giving them your personal information. So we must stay aware of ever-changing cyber threats in both our professional and personal lives. Learn more about protecting yourself from and responding to scams and frauds.