FEATURE fake website, sent a complex fake letter, and successfully alarmed REALTORS® across the state, adds Margy Grant, general counsel for Florida Realtors. (If you receive this invoice, do not respond.) • A phishing alert from the National Association of REALTORS® warning members of an e-mail with the subject line “Important Updates to Database!” The e-mail included the phrase “To that end, if you could please look through attached PDF; which contains a list of all members along with their contact information and make sure yours is correctly represented.” (If you receive this e-mail, do not open it.) • And now this latest notice from NAR of a text message scam alert: If you receive a text message asking for payment of a fine or sales tax on a prize, it is likely a delivery system for malware. In one version (Exhibit C on page 14), a scammer levies false ethics accusations against a member and demands payment of a fine. Additionally, NAR has seen versions of a text purportedly from NAR, telling the recipient they have won a prize (a car or a TV) in a contest sponsored by NAR. NAR has reported both variants of the scam to the FBI. If you receive one of these texts, take the following actions: EXHIBIT B — Scam E-mail and Regular Mail 1. Do not click on any links in the text or otherwise engage with the sender. If you have clicked on a link in a suspicious text, promptly follow up with an IT specialist to ensure that the device is free from malware. 2. Erase the text from your device. You can take a screen shot of the scam prior to erasing it to use it in a report to the FBI if you choose. Continued on page 14 PHISHING FOR YOUR INFORMATION AND MALWARING YOUR COMPUTER DEVICES We’ve all received at least one email from a Nigerian Prince, looking for assistance in a lucrative investment opportunity, or perhaps a “Look at this funny video of you” message from a friend on a social media site. Flattering as such messages may feel, by now we know they are scams. Typically such messages contain malicious “phishing” links that you are encouraged to click on. Once you click on such a link, bad things happen. Malicious software — known as “malware” or “spyware”— is often installed on your computer, recording your every keystroke to garner logins and passwords to all of the sites you frequent. Before you know it, the cybercriminals responsible for the attack suddenly have access to your email, bank accounts, credit cards, and much more. Malware comes in many forms, each form seeking a specific type of malicious action. Viruses, Worms, and Trojan horses are all types of malware. orlandorealtors.org 13
20509OR
To see the actual publication please follow the link above