Beware of Scams --- "Email Spoofing"

As we go through the holiday seasons, I want to share some important information with you. I received a call last week from a citizen who was inquiring about a call her elderly father had received. The caller seemed to be from a legit organization and portrayed themselves as someone that wanted to help protect the elderly gentleman's information. The caller was very convincing and seemed legit. When the daughter of the gentleman called the number back that the caller left, they gave her a name and a badge number. When she informed them she would call the local authorities and make them aware of the situation, they advised her to not do that. That was a red flag and she called me for advice. I advised her that any organization that did not recommend a possible breach of personal information being reported to local authorities was more than likely a scam. I advised her to call the Sheriff's office and report the incident. 
Unfortunately, during the holiday seasons, scams seem to become more common. This young lady suspected something was not right and called to report the incident. I would advise you to never share your personal information with someone over the phone, especially an organization that you have had no dealings with before. These criminals seem to prey on the elderly and use scare tactics to gain their personal information. Many unsuspecting citizens have had their life savings taken from them with very minimal recovery, if you are fortunate enough to catch the person or persons responsible. 
Just this week, I received an email from KACo about an incident that happened in another County. Someone had breached the Cumberland County Judge Executives email and sent out an email to a county employee that was flagged as "Important". The email asks the recipient to handle a task discreetly and to only follow up via email, not a phone call. The task: purchase $1,400 in gift cards to be used as incentive gifts to the county's hardworking staff. The emails appear to come from "Luke King," the Judge Executive, but a closer inspection of the actual email address reveals it to be completely fabricated. 
This type of scam, known as email spoofing, tries to trick recipients into believing they are communicating with a trusted source. In this case, the scammer used Judge King's name to gain credibility, hoping recipients wouldn't check the actual email address before responding. 
These scams can lead to compromised information, financial loss, or malware attacks if the recipient engages with the email. 
Please be careful and aware this Christmas season. If you feel someone is trying to scam you, alert local authorities. 
Have a blessed week