Hacker’s Brief 7/13/2020

St. Mark’s Church in Cheyenne:

St. Mark’s wants you to know that the church and the rector are not sending solicitations for help right now.  If you receive a solicitation it is a scam.  Contact St. Mark’s directly to let them know.

Internet Service Provider Scam Perpetuated by Harry Potter Character Ron Weasley:

An email scam reported by a Wyoming citizen claims to be from a generically named Internet Service Provider tech named Ron Weasley at Tests@ISPServices.com.  Ron wants to run some diagnostic tests but needs you to visit a site and download some test files to run on your computer.  Ron Weasley, although a beloved Harry Potter character, is not a senior technician for the fictional ISP Services and you should not follow his advice about your computer.

PayPal Scam Reported by Wyoming Citizen:

An email scam with the subject line of “Order Confirmation Payment” from paypalmic008@gmail.com yet spoofed as “Billing Confirmation” claims that the security of your PayPal account may be in jeopardy.  The email is riddled with incorrect capitalizations and incorrect grammar and is not from PayPal.

PayPal/eBay Scam Reported by Wyoming Citizen:

An email scam with the subject line of “News Summary from Paypal” from jepmail-repqznki-yiappswaraau@rasakitasaji.com  yet spoofed as service@intl.limited.com claims to be monitoring your eBay transactions on your PayPal account.  The link to verify your identity attempts to steal your credentials.

Extortion Scam Reported by Wyoming Citizen:

An email extortion scam with the subject line of “Bad News” from <jm.ftx.bxmmt.awy.rw@go.ke.uukvuy.sp.to.ibtcoaching.com> spoofed as “You’ve Been Hacked” claims to release all the videos you have watched to your email contacts and social network unless you pay a sum in bitcoin.  

Capital One Banking Survey Scam Reported by Wyoming Citizen:

An email scam with the subject line of “Confirmation Ut” from info@viridicloset.com spoofed as “MemberSurveyPanel.com” claims to be a Capital One Banking Survey that offers rewards if you participate.  Capital One’s website asks that you report these scams to abuse@capitalone.com. 

MS-ISAC Patch Now Alert:

The Multi-States Information Sharing and Analysis Center has issued a patch now alert for the Mozilla Firefox browser, the Mozilla Thunderbird email client, and the Google Android operating system.  In addition, for businesses using the F5 BIG-IP products and security solutions, multiple Cisco products, or Juniper systems, patch now alerts were also issued.  If you use these products, make sure the software is updated.

Outdoorsy Scam Alert:

Watch out for fake RV, boat, and related outdoorsy equipment scams.  Crooks are using fake local addresses and websites to look legitimate.   Be suspicious of anything that has a huge price cut and beware of anyone asking for a wire transfer as payment.

Scambusters.org Alert About Mask Exemption Cards:

There are no official mask exemption cards available at this time and online scam sites are fraudulently using names and logos of government departments, like the Department of Justice and the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are traveling to a state where masks are deemed mandatory, it would be best to carry a doctor’s note if you can’t wear a mask because of a disability.

Other ways to report a scam:

• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker: bbb.org/scamtracker/us/reportscam
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov
• Report your scam to the FBI at https://www.ic3.gov/complaint
• Reported unwanted calls to the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Registration.  Online at donotcall.gov/report.html or call 1-888-382-1222, option 3
• Office of the Inspector General:  oig.ssa.gov
• AARP Fraud Watch Network (any age welcome) Helpline 877-908-3360
• IRS:  report email scams impersonating the IRS to phishing@irs.gov
• Call the Wyoming Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) for assistance with potential Medicare fraud, abuse, or errors at 1 800 856-4398

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