WASHINGTON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL – New Way to Report Robocalls and Telemarketing Scams

Yesterday, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced a new way for the public to report robocalls to it.

Before the new online form, Washington citizens could report robocalls to the Attorney General’s general consumer complaint form. With the new purpose-built form, AG staff will have more precise information that should help it to react faster to consumer complaints.

Along with the new online form, the AG’s Office has created an informational website on robocalls and telemarketing scams.

Robocalls are unsolicited automated phone calls that try to sell you something or ask you to contribute to a cause. If you have listed your phone number on the Do Not Call List, legitimate businesses will honor your desires by not calling your phone number. Scammers and fraudsters usually will call you whether or not your number is on the Do Not Call List.

Other signs that a phone call is a scam include,

·         The call asks for personal information.

·         Their offer seems too good to be true.

·         The caller requests payment other than by credit card.

·         The caller uses threats or scare tactics to convince you to act.

If you suspect that a call is a scam, the Attorney General’s Office recommends that you,

·         Do not trust your Caller ID.

·         Do not answer the call.

·         If you answer, and the call meets one of the above criteria, HANG UP.

·         Do not pay for or accept any offers.

·         Resist the urge to call back or confront the caller.

·         Block the number. You can find out how from your service provider.

·         Report the incident to the Attorney General’s Office.

For more information about robocalls and telemarketing scams check out the following links,

 

 

 

 

 

Washington State Attorney General’s Office:

https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-launches-anti-robocall-initiative-stop-illegal-harassing-calls

https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/robocallForm.aspx

https://www.atg.wa.gov/robocall-and-telemarketing-scams

 

Do Not Call Registry:

https://www.donotcall.gov/?msclkid=b858552cafc311ec8ba16388a9390086

 

The Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/wa-launches-new-way-to-report-illegal-robocalls/

 

KING-TV:

https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/verizon-spam-text-messages-own-phone-numbers/507-641a84d5-670f-4442-acc5-4e75dae13e2e

 

 

 

GIVING TO UKRAINE – Watch for Scams

We all have seen the horrifying pictures of the war in Ukraine and heard the stories of refugees, victims of the bombing, and the efforts of the Ukrainian military. The situation in Ukraine may motivate you to give to a charity that can help Ukrainians during this war.

Situations like those in Ukraine give scammers an opportunity to take advantage of our good hearts. Scammers often take advantage of disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, wildfires, etc. to skim off potential charitable contributions for their own pockets. And you can  bet that scammers are taking advantage of the situation in Ukraine.

The Washington State Secretary of State recently encouraged all Washington citizens to be diligent and to research any potential charitable contributions for Ukraine.

The Secretary of State’s Office offers the following tips to protect your contribution:

·         Check the charity’s registration status. You can check to see of a charity is registered with the Secretary of State and is in good standing at this link- https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/

·         Does the charity have experience and does its mission match the need in Ukraine? Be sure that the charity has the experience, staff, and contacts to be helpful in Ukraine. You can look up the track record of charities on websites of watchdog organizations such as Charity Watch- https://www.charitywatch.org/, Charity Navigator- https://www.charitynavigator.org/, or the Better Business Bureau at https://give.org/news/wise-giving-wednesday-tips-on-donations-to-assist-ukraine-relief-efforts.

·         Be cautious of online fundraising. Avoid giving to charities or individuals online that you do not know. For more information on the ins and outs of online giving check out the Secretary of State’s Guide of Online Giving- https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/charities/givesmart%20online%20giving%20guide.pdf.

·         Do not share personal financial information over the phone. This includes your credit/debit card or bank account information. If you receive a call from someone soliciting for a charity, do not feel pressured to give money or your personal information. Legitimate charities will not pressure you to make an immediate donation.

For more information on protecting yourself from charity scams check out the following links,

 

Washington State Secretary of State:

https://www.sos.wa.gov/charities/givesmart.aspx

 

AARP:

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2022/tips-for-donating-to-ukraine.html

 

Better Business Bureau:

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26575-donating-to-help-ukraine-relief-activities

 

KIRO-TV:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/as-russian-invasion-expands-so-do-seattle-based-efforts-to-help-ukrainians/ar-AAV3CNX?ocid=msedgntp

 

 

TAX SEASON SAFETY – Protect Yourself from Scams and ID Theft

As the deadline for filing income taxes rapidly approaches, there are things you can do to protect yourself from scams and ID theft.

Tax fraud can happen any time of the year, but the IRS reminds everyone that tax time is a period when it sees more phone scams than other times of the year.

If the IRS wants to contact you, it will initiate contact with a letter via the U.S. Postal Service, not via a phone call, email, or text message. Also, the IRS will not demand immediate payment and will not demand payment with gift cards, wire transfer, or crypto currency.

Some other red flags include,

·         Request for personal information such as bank account information, Social Security numbers, login credentials or mailing addresses.

·         Scare tactics- the IRS will not demand an immediate response or use scare tactics such as threatening to throw you in jail if you do not comply immediately.

·         Email with attachments- the IRS will not send you an email with attachments, especially in an initial email. If you receive an unexpected email claiming to be from the IRS with links or attachments, delete the email. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS OR ATTACHMENTS!

One way you can protect yourself from identity theft is to get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) as an extra layer of security to protect yourself from scammers or fraudsters from using your Social Security number to file an income tax return in your name. For more information about the IP PIN check out this IRS link- https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin.

For more information on how you can protect yourself from tax related fraud see the following links,

 

National Cybersecurity Alliance:

https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/online-safety-basics/tax-time-safety/

 

Identity Theft Resource Center:

https://www.idtheftcenter.org/tax-identity-theft/

 

IRS:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/taxpayers-beware-tax-season-is-prime-time-for-phone-scams

 

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

 

 

 

CYBER DEFENSE – Can Russia’s Attack on Ukraine be Exported to the U.S.?

The conflict in Ukraine seems so far away from our homes here in Western Washington. While our federal government has vowed not to send American troops or airmen into Ukraine, it has shown its disgust with the Russian invasion through a variety of sanctions in solidarity with its NATO and European allies along with other allies around the world. But the pledge to keep our military away from combat would keep the conflict away from American shores, or at least one would think so.

However, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been warning businesses and U.S. government entities since at least late last year, that a potential exists of cyber-attacks related to the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Its warnings are primarily targeted to the businesses and utilities such as the electric grid, transportation, and financial services along with governmental entities where disruption could affect our daily lives. While not related to Ukraine, last May’s ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline shows how cybercriminals could cripple an essential utility.

A cyber threat could come in two forms:

·         Spillover from an attack that targets a specific entity, not even in the U.S., but with a cyber weapon that has self-propagating properties that can spread beyond the intended target.

·         An attack in retaliation for sanctions where Russia, or its client cybercriminals, target Western organizations. Financial services could be a prime target in a tit-for-tat scenario. Or it could be another unanticipated surprise sector that is attacked.

Much of the action that needs to be taken rests with business and government. People who work in business or government need to heed the procedures set up by their IT departments to protect them from an intrusion or cyber-attack. For the rest of us there are a few things that will help protect our information and our accounts. They are actions that cyber security professionals have been recommending for some time. If you are not doing them, now is a good time to start.

·         Apply multi-factor authentication (MFA) to your accounts. CISA says that multi-factor authentication can reduce the likelihood of being hacked by 99%. Use MFA on your email, social media, online shopping, financial services, and any other accounts you consider sensitive.

·         Be sure your software is up to date. Turning on automatic updates makes this easy.

·         Think before you click. CISA says that more than 90% of successful cyber-attacks start with a phishing email. Be wary of links in emails you receive and websites that you go to.

·         Use strong, unique passwords on your accounts. Use a password manager or vault, to securely keep track of your passwords.

If you are doing these things, you are probably in reasonable shape to weather a potential cyber-attack.

 

 

 

CBS:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-far-will-putin-go-and-how-far-will-america-go-to-stop-him/

 

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA):

https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up

 

Krebs on Security:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/02/russia-sanctions-may-spark-escalating-cyber-conflict/

 

Federal News Network:

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/cybersecurity/2022/03/ukraine-russia-conflict-puts-cyber-warfare-front-and-center/

 

South Snohomish County Crime Watch:

https://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2022/02/multifactor-authentication-new-way-to.html

 

Ask Leo:

https://askleo.com/phishing_how_to_know_it_when_you_see_it/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=20191217&utm_medium=email&utm_content=featured

 

https://askleo.com/practical-password-techniques/

MULTIFACTOR AUTHENTICATION – A New Way to Protect Your Accounts

 Lately, cyber-security professionals have been advising anyone who will listen (and some who won’t) to adopt Multifactor Authentication (MFA), also known as Two Factor Authentication (2FA). The reason that they are so eager that everyone use MFA is that it is an added safety measure to protect your online accounts, email, bank, financial, social media, etc., from being taken over by a hacker or an identity thief.

With almost all online accounts, we set them up with a username and a password (this is one factor). But this method of proving who we are to the service our account belongs to, is proving not to be perfect in protecting an outsider from seeing what is in the account or from taking the account over.

More and more services are encouraging their users/customers/followers to adopt MFA when setting up their accounts. Some services will probably start to force use of MFA to protect their users from account takeover. Google has already started. Google says that so far it has successfully “auto-enrolled” over 150 million people into its 2-Step Verification (2SV) program. 2SV is similar to MFA. It recently announced that as a result of auto-enrolling those 150 million people it has “…seen a 50% decrease in accounts being compromised among those users.”

So how does Multifactor Authentication work? MFA authenticates more than one “factor” to ensure that you are you.

Factors can be:

·         Something you know- your password or a PIN.

·         Something you have- your smartphone, a secure USB key, or a smart card.

·         Something you are- your fingerprint, or your face.

When you enter your username and password, or you enter a PIN, you are entering something you know. But someone else can know that information also, either because you gave it to them, or they bought it on the dark web, or they stole it in a phishing attack.

MFA uses a second factor to verify that you have a right to access the account. That second factor can be something that you have such as your smartphone. The way this works is: after you enter your username and password the service might send you a text message with a code. The text message is sent to something you have, your smartphone. Then, you enter the code in the text message, and you are in your account.

However, text messages can be intercepted. A more secure method is to install an authenticator app on your smartphone such as Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. Authenticator apps are a more secure way to communicate between your smartphone and the service.

With an authenticator app a code will show on the app, then you can enter the code in the dialog on your PC or laptop. The codes are short term codes which last only 30 second or so. This helps ensure security, making it harder for identity thieves to break into your account.

While this is an additional step, it is quick and easy. The process usually only occurs when you first get into your account, when you try to enter your account from a different device than you normally use, or if you have not been in the account for a long time.

With Multifactor Authentication, you are more protected from someone taking over your online account and causing havoc to your real life. Set up MFA for every account that you can, but especially on your email, social media, financial, or other sensitive online accounts that you might have.

 

 

 

Google:

https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/reducing-account-hijacking/

 

Microsoft:

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/MFA-Fact-Sheet-Jan22-508.pdf

 

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency:

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/MFA-Fact-Sheet-Jan22-508.pdf

 

Wikipedia:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication

 

SNOHOMISH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE – Drones Helping Deputies

This issue of the Sheriff’s Office crime prevention newsletter, “Partners in Crime Prevention,” explains how the Sheriff’s Office uses drones in its work.

 

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:

https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6780

ROMANCE SCAMS – A Reminder to be Wary of Online Relationships

Valentine’s Day is coming, and we think about romance in our lives. A downside of romance is the fact that scammers try to take advantage of people’s need for relationships to steal their money and their identities. And if you have experienced a recent loss (divorce, breakup, death of a spouse) or other hardship, you may be more vulnerable.

Places where scammers often lurk include dating apps like Tinder and Zoosk. But, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found that romance scams are the second most profitable scam on social media, second only to investment scams.

Scammers will tailor their personas to meet your needs. It isn’t bad to go into a dating app or social media conversation with a potential suitor with some skepticism. People do fall in love legitimately online, but sometimes scammers do take advantage of people who think they are in love.

Some things you can look for to stay away from a romance scam (also known as catfishing) include:

 

·         Don’t overshare on social media. Don’t reveal everything about yourself right away, especially in your profile.

·         Watch out for suitors who appear too good to be true. For example, their pictures look like they are models or movie stars. Do a reverse image search to see where their pictures really came from.

·         Be careful of people who are in a hurry to get off the site to talk to you, such as wanting to go to email, messenger, or the phone to talk.

·         They profess their love really fast. That should be a warning.

·         They constantly talk about trust. This could be setting you up for the scammer to ask for money.

·         They are unable to meet in person. Often scammers will claim to be in the military or are oversees. If the two of you do arrange to meet, the scammer will come up with an excuse that they cannot make it at the last minute.

·         If the other person uses poor spelling or grammar, overly flowery language and phrases that do not make sense that may indicate a scam.

·         They have a hard-luck story. This can be someone who professes to be successful but has a disastrous calamity that puts them in a financial pinch opening the door for them to ask for financial help from you.

·         They ask for money. Be wary of someone who you have not met who asks for money.

 

 

 

 

The Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/with-valentines-day-around-the-corner-know-these-tips-to-protect-yourself-from-romance-scams/

 

Identity Theft Resource Center:

https://www.idtheftcenter.org/post/swipe-left-on-romance-scams/

 

Federal Trade Commission:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2022/01/social-media-gold-mine-scammers-2021