Phishing Campaign Uses New York Department of Labor Logo and Pandemic Aid Info to Steal Private Information

Security researchers have identified a new phishing campaign using a message purportedly from the New York Department of Labor to trick people into giving the attackers personal data.

Threat actors often target personal user data in phishing campaigns because they can easily help in fraud and identify theft. Such credentials are highly sought on the black market, which is why many phishing emails aim in this direction.

In this situation, the attackers take a subject of great interest in the United States, such as the currently discussed pandemic aid, and try to convince people to offer their details in a spoofed website.

“The attacker impersonates the New York Department of Labor by disguising their identity with the display name “[email protected]” and displaying the New York State logo at the top of the email,” says Abnormal Security.

“However, a closer look reveals the true sender to be “[email protected]”, a Panamanian-registered domain with no association to the New York state government. The attacker claims that the government will administer a $600 relief fund to citizens who fill out the indicated form.”

If successful, the attacker gets the user”s name, address, date of birth, social security number and driver”s license.

The email also adds a sense of urgency to the claim and the use of official logos and seemingly official email address helps to make this an efficient way to steal private information.

As usual, the best protection against this kind of attack is to always keep in mind that such private data should never be shared online and that authorities will never ask for it in such a manner. The same goes for financial information. If you believe you”ve fallen for such an email, keep an eye on your financial situation and report any suspicious activity.

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