The FBI has warned Americans of cybercriminals impersonating health fraud investigators to steal their sensitive information.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns the public about criminals impersonating legitimate health insurers and their investigative team members. These criminals are sending emails and text messages to patients and health care providers, disguising them as legitimate communications from trusted health care authorities. The messages are designed to pressure victims into disclosing protected health information, medical records, personal financial details, or providing reimbursements for alleged service overpayments or non-covered services.
Commenting on this news is Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4:
“This tactic uses the authority of large insurers, or the threat of investigative team members to create a strong emotional response to their messages. Whether it’s fear of having made an error, or the happy feeling of hearing that you had overpaid and will be refunded, the manipulation of our emotions is their primary goal. Humans tend to make bad decisions when in a heightened emotional state, something that these attackers are looking to exploit. If you’re being told you’re getting money back for something, you’re likely to get excited and be willing to provide a credit card or bank account information for the “refund” or provide more information under the guise of confirming your identity. This tactic can be used to collect sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or much more, all of which can be sold on the dark web.”
“People should always be aware of their emotional state, and should train themselves to use a strong emotional response as a trigger to take a deep breath and look at things very clearly. This is where you’re liable to find out that email addresses don’t come from reputable sources, websites in links look odd, or any number of other things that could clue you into something being amiss.”
Remember, if someone is trying to pressure you into to something or use fear to get you to do something, you are likely dealing with a scammer. Which means you should run quickly in the other direction. Then you should report it to the authorities so that they can do their best to go after the perpetrators. That way, everyone is a tiny bit safer.
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This entry was posted on June 30, 2025 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags FBI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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FBI warns of cybercriminals stealing health data posing as fraud investigators
The FBI has warned Americans of cybercriminals impersonating health fraud investigators to steal their sensitive information.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns the public about criminals impersonating legitimate health insurers and their investigative team members. These criminals are sending emails and text messages to patients and health care providers, disguising them as legitimate communications from trusted health care authorities. The messages are designed to pressure victims into disclosing protected health information, medical records, personal financial details, or providing reimbursements for alleged service overpayments or non-covered services.
Commenting on this news is Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4:
“This tactic uses the authority of large insurers, or the threat of investigative team members to create a strong emotional response to their messages. Whether it’s fear of having made an error, or the happy feeling of hearing that you had overpaid and will be refunded, the manipulation of our emotions is their primary goal. Humans tend to make bad decisions when in a heightened emotional state, something that these attackers are looking to exploit. If you’re being told you’re getting money back for something, you’re likely to get excited and be willing to provide a credit card or bank account information for the “refund” or provide more information under the guise of confirming your identity. This tactic can be used to collect sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or much more, all of which can be sold on the dark web.”
“People should always be aware of their emotional state, and should train themselves to use a strong emotional response as a trigger to take a deep breath and look at things very clearly. This is where you’re liable to find out that email addresses don’t come from reputable sources, websites in links look odd, or any number of other things that could clue you into something being amiss.”
Remember, if someone is trying to pressure you into to something or use fear to get you to do something, you are likely dealing with a scammer. Which means you should run quickly in the other direction. Then you should report it to the authorities so that they can do their best to go after the perpetrators. That way, everyone is a tiny bit safer.
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This entry was posted on June 30, 2025 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags FBI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.