$57 million was lost in 2019. ~ FBI’s Internet Complaint Center
That loss resulted from phishing, and in 2020, amid political campaigns and the pandemic, scammers are putting in overtime.
Lifestyles Media Group has received several emails purportedly from campaigns requesting contributions that gave us pause. After careful review, we found they were from countries other than the US.
Another current scam that the Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers about is contact tracing schemes in which scammers send text messages. They often include a link instructing you to learn more. Don’t click on it!
Lifestyles Media Group offers tips for identifying and reporting a phishing email that, by all appearances, may look legitimate. These tips are designed to protect you during this year’s political campaigns and challenging times.
- Always examine the sender’s email address for red flags
- Protect your website and contact forms by having an SSL
- Don’t be too quick to click on links or open attachments
- Use multi-factor authentication for all of your accounts
- Make sure you use a different password for each site
- Create strong passwords using a combination of capitalized and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols
- If you’d like to donate to a political party, visit the Federal Election Commission’s website to look up candidate profiles
- Report phishing emails and text scams to the Federal Trade Commission
- If you’re affected by any of these scams, contact Lifestyles Media Group at (480) 970-6888, or Lifestyles Tech Support at (623) 341-6327
Resources:
“2019 Internet Crime Report Released.” FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, 11 February, 2020.
“COVID-19 contact tracing text message scams.” Federal Trade Commission, 19 May, 2020.
