Practical Tips to Mitigate the Risk of Being Hacked by Fake IRS or Google Voice Scams | Hinshaw & Culbertson – Law Firm Cyber Alerts

Risk Management Question

What are some of the newest hacking scams that may affect law firms and other businesses?

The Issue

On October 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warnings to be on alert for two new hacking tricks.

The Fake Email Alert warned about fake Internal Revenue Service (IRS) emails offering a third Economic Impact Payment (EIP) if the responder clicks a link and provides personal information. The IRS warned this is just another version of the classic government impersonator scam. Clicking on the link enables the scammer to commit identity theft.

The Google Voice Scam Alert warned about coordinated efforts to steal telephone numbers. The scammers target people who have posted items for sale, are missing pets, or have otherwise posted information online, seeking others to respond and contact them. The scammers then suggest they are concerned whether the person posting the information is a real person and that the posting is not fraudulent. The scammer’s approach is to ask for the verification code sent by Google to confirm the poster’s identity. The FTC warned that providing the verification code creates an opportunity for the scammer to create Google Voice telephone numbers linked to your original telephone number. The new Google Voice numbers may be used to falsely list items for sale, often using the poster’s name in the ads.

Risk Management Solutions

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