A note from the Former President, Dr. Sherritta Hughes
Hello Everyone,
I want to inform you that recently there has been a phishing scheme that has used my name as the President of the NJCA asking individuals to provide gift cards and money to mailed. Please be advised that I, nor anyone (to my knowledge) has or will be requesting personal funds on my behalf. Please be sure to not only look at the name of the sender but observe the email address which can almost always indicate fraud. It is very difficult sometimes to ascertain when there may be a phishing scheme but when in doubt always check the email, confirm with the individual via another modality ( i.e. Cell phone or another verified email address) and investigate properly. In addition, fraudulent activity will almost always ask for monetary items via gift cards, cash check etc. I am including some helpful information and a link to the consumer affairs website where you can obtain more detailed information on phishing schemes. Thank you for your time and have a great day!
-Sherritta Hughes, NJCA President
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
How to Recognize Phishing
Scammers often update their tactics, but there are some signs that will help you recognize a phishing email or text message.
Phishing emails and text messages may look like they’re from a company you know or trust. They may look like they’re from a bank, a credit card company, a social networking site, an online payment website or app, or an online store.
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. They may
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information
- say you must confirm some personal information
- include a fake invoice
- want you to click on a link to make a payment
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund
- offer a coupon for free stuff
Four Steps to Protect Yourself From Phishing
- Protect your computer by using security software. Set the software to update automatically so it can deal with any new security threats.
- Protect your mobile phone by setting software to update automatically. These updates could give you critical protection against security threats.
- Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication. Some accounts offer extra security by requiring two or more credentials to log in to your account. This is called multi-factor authentication. The additional credentials you need to log in to your account fall into two categories:
- Something you have — like a passcode you get via text message or an authentication app.
- Something you are — like a scan of your fingerprint, your retina, or your face.
Multi-factor authentication makes it harder for scammers to log in to your accounts if they do get your username and password.
- Protect your data by backing it up. Back up your data and make sure those backups aren’t connected to your home network. You can copy your computer files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. Back up the data on your phone, too.