Florida Attorney General sending a warning about conversation hijacking scams

Jacksonville, FL — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging everyone to be extra careful navigating through their e-mails especially with-it being tax filing season.

Moody says there is a scam making the rounds targeting e-mails known as ‘conversation hijacking.’

“Conversation hijacking attacks are the latest trick being used to steal people’s identities and access their financial information.”

This scam involves crook getting a hold of people’s e-mail conversations and sending a new message. The new message usually includes a malicious link or attachment. If the recipient clicks on the link or attachment they will be asked to type in personal information that could be used to submit fake tax returns.

To guard against conversation hijacking scams, people should:

• Never share passwords or login credentials with anyone;
• Change passwords frequently
• Maintain a strong password that utilizes numbers and special characters—avoiding common words, birth dates, or other easily discernible terms;
• Not click on unsolicited links or download any unsolicited files without verbally verifying the authenticity with the sender through another means of communication, such as a phone call;
• Ensure systems and devices are updated with the latest operating systems, security patches and antivirus software.

Below are some common clues that an email or text message is a phishing scam:

• Unfamiliar sender;
• Poor spelling and grammar;
• Use of terms that are not normally associated with the topic of the message;
• Message is unexpected, out of place, or urgent;
• Sender attempts to elicit some sort of emotion, such as sympathy or fear; or
• An unsolicited statement that the sender is unavailable to talk on the phone.