The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently issued a statement to raise awareness of a recent impersonation scam where hackers claim to represent the agency. The agency stated that, as a reminder, CISA staff will never contact individuals with a request to wire money, cash, cryptocurrency, or use gift cards, and will never instruct you to keep the discussion secret.
If you suspect you are a target of an impersonation scammer claiming to be a CISA employee:
- Do not pay the caller.
- Take note of the phone number calling you.
- Hang up immediately.
- Validate the contact by calling CISA at (844) SAY-CISA (844-729-2472) or report it to law enforcement.
CISA’s announcement comes on the heels of data from CyberNut showing that 98 percent of cyber-attacks are attributed to social engineering tactics. that are used to exploit human psychology and trick individuals into revealing confidential information, providing unauthorized access, or performing actions against their own interests. This includes trusting phone calls or messages without verification.