AG Peterson & NSP Warn of Spear Phishing Scam
Over the last several days, city and county finance directors and small businesses across the state have been the subject of a targeted “spear phishing” attack. Spear phishers target select groups of people by masquerading as a trustworthy source through email or other forms of communication. The attacks have primarily targeted individuals from government and businesses that have control over finances.
The victim of the scam will receive an email that appears as if it is legitimately coming from his or her supervisor. The email requests the victim to wire or transfer funds from the entity’s financial account, and sometimes, the scammer expresses great urgency to rush the victim to action. The spoofed email address in the “From” line will be created with a forged sender address. Email spoofing is a technique that allows the scammer to imitate or trick the email recipient into thinking he or she is communicating with a trusted and regular contact within the organization.
