Courtesy of the Pima County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers
Scams come in all forms. A warning from the FBI has alerted the Scam Squad to cyber-criminals who are compromising e-mail accounts of both individuals and businesses. The scammers obtain monetary information from personal e-mail accounts and arrange fraudulent cash transfers. These scammers are considered hackers. Unknowingly to the victim, they gain access to email accounts, remaining silent while observing correspondence, until an opportune time presents itself. With information from the victim’s emails, the hacker is able to intercept messages and delete them or rewrite them for their own benefit.
Because the intercepted correspondence involves monetary information, perhaps from a bank account, the hacker will delete the intercepted messages, and send account information with instructions to deposit money to a different bank account set up by the hacker. The money that is transferred to the hackers’ bank account will then be withdrawn, and this temporary account will then be closed.
According to an overseer of U.S. Security Firms, the Financial Regulatory Authority warns of reports of an increasing number of customer funds stolen due to “instructions e-mailed to firms/businesses from customer e-mail accounts that have been compromised.”
The Fraudsters may be observing your e-mail account and incoming and outgoing messages. So, never give out bank account numbers or credit card information on an e-mail! Remember: unsolicited e-mails, phone calls or letters are attempts to extract personal information from you. Keep your e-mail account as a means to contact relatives and friends, and never post transfers or do official banking business by e-mail.
Call the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers with any information about Scams and Frauds, so the Scam Squad may alert your neighbors and friends as well. To contact the SCAM SQUAD to report suspicious activity, or a particular incident or fraud, call 520-351-4900.
The SCAM SQUAD