The FBI often warns smartphone owners when there is a new attack against them that is going viral, threatening to steal their personal data. The bottom line is that when the G-men spot a scam that could lead to many smartphone users having their financial accounts wiped out, they will get the word out, hopefully alerting smartphone users, preventing them from making the fatal gaffes that leave their bank or securities accounts at $0 with no recourse.
Watch out for this new variation of the "brushing scam" that can wipe you out
The latest scam catching the eyes of the FBI is called "brushing," and the warning comes from the Pittsburgh field office. Brushing has nothing to do with making your hair look nice or your teeth clean. The traditional brushing scam involves online vendors who ship merchandise to recipients who never ordered the product. The scammers use the personal information of the recipient to post a positive review of the product.
As harmful as it is to have fake reviews dot the Internet super highway, the FBI says that there is now another variation of "brushing" that seeks to obtain the victims' personal data as a way to access their financial accounts and wipe them out. Similar to the aforementioned traditional "brushing scam," a package is sent to recipients who didn't order the product inside of it. The difference with this version of the scam is that these packages contain a QR code.
To get the victims to scan the QR code, the scammers send the package without a return address or any clue to the name of the sender. The QR code collects personal and financial information that the victims reveal, while it also results in the downloading of malicious software on the victims' phones.
The FBI suggests that you follow these recommendations:
The FBI warns smartphone users not to scan QR codes that come with unsolicited packages or other forms of communication. But don't expect the FBI to give you a warning without coming up with some suggestions that you should follow to prevent the scammers from wiping out your financial accounts:
- Beware of unsolicited packages containing merchandise you did not order.
- Beware of packages that do not include sender information.
- Take precautions before authorizing phone permissions and access to websites and applications.
- Do not scan QR codes from unknown origins.
- If you believe you are the target of a brushing scam, secure your online presence by changing account profiles and requesting a free credit report from one or all the national credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to identify possible fraudulent activity.
The only way law enforcement can help stop these attacks is if victims report their experiences. The FBI does request that fraudulent or suspicious activities be passed along to them via the FBI IC3 website at www.ic3.gov (or tap this link). The G-men say that you need to be sure to include as much information as possible such as:
- The name of the person or company that contacted you.
- Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
- Any applications you may have downloaded or provided permissions to on your electronic device.
While you might think to yourself that this can't happen to you, the truth is that you really should be prepared mentally to deal with some kind of attack like "brushing." By tricking victims into scanning the QR code, the attackers know exactly how to get the information they need to break into financial accounts such as:
- Bank Accounts
- Securities trading accounts
- Crypto accounts
- Credit card accounts
The best defense is to read the suggestions that the FBI listed and which can be found starting with the fifth paragraph of this story. Don't take this lightly. If your funds do get stolen from any of the above accounts, remember, there is no guarantee that you'll have any recourse.