On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … We all appreciate “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” the seasonal song with the partridge in a pear tree, five golden rings, etc. The song is fun but cybercrime expert Michael Moore of M3 Networks has created “The Twelve Days of Scamming” as a reminder to be cautious and vigilant during the Christmas season so you can protect your data, your contacts and your money from cyber thieves who will do anything – literally anything – to steal from you. Here is the first installment of “The Twelve Days of Scamming.”
On this first day of scamming, your hackers send to you … not a partridge in a pear tree but a fake phone call from your son.
In the call, produced by Artificial Intelligence (AI), your “son” seems very shaken, saying he was involved in a car accident and hit the car of a pregnant woman. He’s crying and he is asking you for help. He hands the phone to someone who seems to be a legitimate attorney.
You check online and see there is indeed an attorney by that name in the city he claims to be calling from and yes, he is associated with a real firm.
The “attorney” (he is using the name but is not that person) tells you that your son’s phone was destroyed in the crash so you cannot reach him except through the “attorney.” The attorney emphasizes that time is critical, that your son has been arrested and that you need to post bail, which the “attorney” says he can arrange. He gives you a cellphone number and instructs you to call him on this number and not at the office. He will ask you to wire money to him.
If you think this scenario is implausible, you should know that a Philadelphia lawyer – a lawyer – told Congress in televised testimony that he was duped by this very ruse.
Artificial Intelligence allows anyone to quickly gather information on an individual such as your son, including where he works or attends school, his interests, his hobbies, and his friends. And AI can impersonate your son’s voice very accurately.
Faced with the situation described, here’s what to do:
- Call your son on his mobile phone. If you can’t reach him, call whoever is closest to him (his girlfriend, wife, roommate) to find out if this has actually happened.
- Go online and find the phone number for the police or sheriff’s office where the “attorney” says your son is being held and call that number. Do NOT call whatever number the “attorney” gives you because that is likely to put you in touch with an impersonator.
Of course, if your son happens to be seated across the dinner table from you, you can ask him if he’s been in an accident or been arrested!
The lesson here is that scammers use your desperate emotions to persuade you to send money faster than you can gather your thoughts.
This holiday season from December 21 through New Year’s Day is a risky time because most companies give time off to their employees – particularly their IT professionals. This leaves them – and you – at risk at a time when cyber criminals are working overtime.
AI has now allowed cyber criminals to automate their nefarious actions and achieve in minutes what in the past would have taken a full day.
While you are shopping and enjoying family time, these criminals are attacking you like never before. The Christmas holiday season is the Super Bowl for scammers, so be more careful than ever!
IMPORTANT! Develop a plan today with your in-house IT specialist or your third-party IT professional. Don’t allow this most joyous time of the year to become your worst nightmare!
Michael D. Moore is founder and CEO of M3 Networks, an IT Support and cybersecurity firm located in Southlake with a nationwide presence. He has 29 years of experience in IT and has spoken frequently to organizations about cybersecurity. His speaking partners have often been agents with the FBI and Secret Service. For answers to questions about keeping your data, money and financial future secure from cyber threats, call Michael at 817-532-0127.