AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Department of Public Safety is warning of an online campaign that targets your banking information.
The source appears to be from the Bank of America CashPro service, and prompts the user to enter information.
“The email and associated website looks convincing. BE AWARE!” a tweet from the DPS cyber security team cautioned.
“If one of us would click on it then obviously it’s very sophisticated and we feel like we would need to warn someone,” DPS chief information security officer Aaron Blackstone said. “So, we kind of do a grading scale of one to 10, and that one was obviously a little more sophisticated so we felt the need to send it out.”
He said DPS is on the receiving end of phishing emails on a daily basis, sharing threats with other agencies to bolster cybersecurity efforts in Texas.
“If they hit one state agency there’s a high probability that they will try and go after another one,” Blackstone added.
Blackstone said similar online phishing attempts happen more frequently during the holiday season.
“This would be the prime time for them to do that. A lot of businesses show increase in revenue, they are going to be transferring money, a lot of people are going to be emailing gifts, buying, doing online shopping,” he said. “Their bank will notify them that there may be issues with a credit card or issues with the payment. So people are more apt to click on those links and more apt to see those fishing campaigns.”
According to Blackstone, of the millions of phishing emails that go out each day, people click the link and enter their name and password approximately once every 38 seconds.
“It happens a lot more than we like, a lot more than we like to think,” he said.
Blackstone’s list of best online practices includes:
- Incorporate a two-factor authentication — an extra layer of security for your online systems
- Use password managers
- Contact your bank directly if you get an email saying there is a problem with your account
A request for comment from Bank of America was not returned as of press time.