When a fake Twitter account of then-commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. Stephen Townsend emerged last year, it prompted the command to release a warning about online scams.
Townsend, however, is by no means the only top-level leader, or service member, to have his or her online identity abused. According to some experts, scams against military personnel are actually on the rise.
In August, the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox put out its second white paper on military scams, highlighting that the threat landscape today is being shaped by the war between Russia and Ukraine, increasing economic instability, and a widening political divide.
It also highlighted that more than 700,000 consumer reports have been submitted as of June 30 by service members — active duty, reservists, veterans and their families — to the Federal Trade Commission since 2018. Losses total more than $718 million, with a median loss of $650.
“Every day across the Department of Defense information network there are 48 million e-mails processed, 174.8 billion cybersecurity events, 420 million marketing and phishing attacks, and 1.5 billion malicious cyber attacks blocked,” according to a Navy release on cybersecurity awareness.
With online scams against active and retired military personnel and their families growing at an exponential rate, experts are touting some basic reminders to prevent the military community from becoming victim to such dangers.
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