FBI Advises to Beware of Holiday Scams

The FBI has issued an advisory warning of various scams that coincide with the holiday season. The FBI notes that the perpetrators of these scams can be aggressive and creative, whether they involve online shopping, social media, gift cards, or charities, but in each case certain red flags are raised. In the case of gift card scams, a type of fraudulent activity that has been observed targeting water and wastewater utilities in the past, the FBI advises consumers should be careful if someone asks them to purchase gift cards for them. In these scams, the victims received either a spoofed email, a spoofed phone call, or a spoofed text from a person in authority requesting the victim purchase multiple gift cards for either personal or business reasons. The gift cards are then used to facilitate the purchase of goods and services which may or may not be legitimate. Some of these incidents are combined with additional requests for wire transfer payments, as described in classic business email compromise (BEC) scenarios. The advisory contains a list of tips to reduce the chance of being victimized and steps to take when an incident occurs. Read the advisory at the FBI.