Washington, DC
One of the fastest growing crimes worldwide is Identity Fraud. Many Americans have recently seen a delivery email or text message supposedly from the Postal Service indicating a “Delivery Failure Notice” and wondered, “why am I receiving this message?” and “do I really have a package that can’t be delivered?” Be advised: it’s a scam. From phishing, smishing, vishing, and now quishing, consumers are at risk of losing their financial identities to scammers. These criminals are constantly changing their tactics to steal personal identifiable information (PII), including account usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, birth dates, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information. With this information, they can carry out crimes like financial fraud that can be difficult and frustrating for you to remedy.
Postal inspectors are working hard to stop these scammers in their tracks, but you can help too. Familiarize yourself with these identity fraud scams designed to trick you into turning over your PII to imposters, and follow the tips on our website, www.uspis.gov, if you receive any unsolicited offers or believe a solicitation is suspicious.
.
1. Phishing – Phishing emails appearing to be from the U.S. Postal Service are fake. Do not interact with them. The phishing emails may contain either a spoofed or fake URL for you to follow or a file that, if opened, can activate a virus. Both these tactics could result in your personal information being stolen. USPS officials would never contact consumers directly asking for payment or PII.
2. Smishing – Have you received unsolicited mobile text messages with an unfamiliar or strange web link that indicates a USPS delivery requires your response? You’re likely dealing with a smishing scam. This type of deceptive text message lures recipients into providing personal or financial information. Scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims.
3. Vishing – A new twist on phishing, vishing is short for voice phishing. Scammers call from a number that may look familiar or even appear to be from a legitimate source, like your bank or a government agency. They may claim there’s an issue with your account or a problem that requires your immediate attention. The caller, however, is anything but legit. It’s a scam!
4. Quishing – QR codes are incredibly common nowadays. You’ve probably seen them on posters, food menus, and TV screens. Take caution before you scan. Some QR codes may be a form of phishing known as quishing. If you receive a message from an unfamiliar email address or text message containing a QR code or see a QR code on a poster in a high-traffic location, don’t scan it. If you do, the QR code could take you to a scammer’s website, which may look legitimate but is designed to scam you out of your PII.
Stay alert! Scammers are always on the hunt for sensitive information. Protect yourself and others by using caution and reporting suspicious emails, texts, calls, voicemails and QR codes to the proper authorities. To learn more about how to protect yourself from identity fraud, visit uspis.gov/identity-fraud-2024. You can also find additional fraud prevention resources on our website at USPIS.gov.
Estilos Media es una Plataforma multimedia, herramienta de información, difusión y promoción de contenido
