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The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office recently issued a statement warning the public about increasing email scams and things people can do to protect themselves.
Scammers use social engineering to gain trust and redirect funds, so it’s crucial to be cautious and mindful of all your financial dealings. Some common occurrences to be aware of include real estate closings, where scammers impersonate the identity of the title/real estate agent or closing attorney and send different payment details; vendor impersonation, where scammers pose as representatives of a company or government agency advising the victim that an invoice must be paid immediately to avoid a negative consequence; scammers will also impersonate a CEO or executive of a company and request that an employee within the accounting or finance department transfer funds to an attacker-controlled account.
The Sheriff’s Office advises the public to verify and confirm details with the parties involved, especially regarding messages about funds transfers. Using a different method to confirm the sender’s identity is essential, such as calling or texting an associated phone number or communicating on a trusted mobile app or chat channel, as some scammers use hacked email accounts. Additionally, be cautious of email addresses that closely resemble legitimate ones you have communicated with in the past, as this is a common tactic used by scammers.
The addition or removal of a single character in an email address may be difficult to spot at first glance, stated the alert, providing the following examples:
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Google.com vs. Google.corn: In this case, the scammer replaced .com with .corn, with the letters “r” and “n”replacing the letter “m”
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JONDOE@BUSINESS vs. JON.D0E@BUSlNESS in this example, the scammer used a zero instead of a capital O and added a period between “JON” and “D0E”. They also used a lowercase “L” in place of capital “i”
According to law enforcement, fraudulent emails may contain a subject line or phrases that denote urgency. If you receive an urgent or confidential email, carefully review it for accuracy and reach out directly to the individual to confirm the request.
Sheriff Stratton Stokes reminds the public to remain vigilant. “Along with all the other scams, please remember emails and social media can be another way that predators strike.”
