When it comes to your personal information, your Social Security number is the most coveted by cybercriminals due to how it can be used to commit identity theft. However, Social Security numbers are often used as a universal identifier despite the security risks of doing so.
According to a new blog post (opens in new tab) from the email security company INKY, a new phishing campaign is currently making the rounds online that uses the Social Security numbers of potential victims as a lure.
The firm first detected an influx of new phishing emails back in September of this year which claim to come from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Upon further inspection, though, the true origin of these emails is actually a random Gmail address.
Nonetheless, many people may fall for this phishing scam when these fake emails arrive in their inboxes as they are actually quite convincing at first glance.
Watch out for these subject lines
In order to trick people into opening their phishing emails, scammers often try to instill a sense of urgency in potential victims. In this campaign in particular, they use the threat of having one’s Social Security number suspended to trick victims into responding.
You’ll see subject lines like “SSN going to be suspended,” “SSN found under suspicious activities,” and “SSN Alert! Termination Warning.”
Alongside subject lines like “SSN going to be suspended,” “SSN found under suspicious…