Gone Phishing – Vigilance In The New Scam Era – Trademark

“Thank you for your order.” “We tried delivering
your package.” We have all seen these subject lines in our
inbox, but some are not so innocent. Business impersonation scams
are not new, but some of their tricks are. These increasingly
sophisticated scams not only present risks for individuals; they
also risk harming a brand’s goodwill if the business’s name
or marks are wrongfully used by bad actors.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), scammers are
increasingly utilizing email and text messaging, rather than phone
calls, to initiate the scam.¹ In 2020, 67 percent of
business impersonation scams were initiated by phone.² In 2023, that number dropped to 32
percent. Over the same period, email scams rose from 10 to 26
percent.³

In this new scam era, both individuals and businesses need to be
vigilant because business imposter scams are the FTC’s most
reported fraud.⁴ Many of us check our emails on our phone
on the way to work or while we wait to pick up our kids from soccer
practice. On our phones, it is easy to miss the email address that
is supposedly from DHL but contains every letter in the alphabet,
or that the purported Norton LifeLock employee uses a Gmail
account. Scammers also utilize urgency and scare tactics to spur
their victims into action before they have a chance to think
twice.

These traps can also catch attorneys’ attention. I recently
did a double take when I received an email thanking me for an
order, although I had not made any purchases recently. Apparently,
the reactivation of my Norton LifeLock had been completed for the
cost of $699.96. Phony subscription renewals were the second most
reported scam type last year, and it is easy to see why.⁵ Even though the recipient is suspicious,
no one wants to pay hundreds of dollars for a subscription they did
not even know they had.

Today’s scams are more complex. For instance, scammers now
include a phone number for the customer to “verify” or
“report the transaction.” Once on the line, scammers
convince the individual to allow them to connect to the
individual’s computer, either stating it is necessary to
process the refund or for security reasons.

For instance, in my case, the “Norton LifeLock”
invoice stated, “Contact us at +1(866) 362-0783 to report if
this transaction was not authorized by you.” Other red flags
included that the payment method was “auto-debit,” the
salutation was to my email address rather than my name, and a quick
google search for the phone number resulted in zero hits. Then to
triple-check, I googled “Norton” and “impersonation
scam.” Sure enough, there was an example of my phishing email,
so into the trash it went.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, individuals should be
suspicious of any unexpected email. First, trust your instincts. If
your first thought is to delete it, then you are probably right.
Second, slow down. Check the sender’s email address and the
payment method, and look for typos. Third, never click on a link or
call the number listed in the email. Instead, look up the
company’s website and use a phone number from that site to
verify the email’s authenticity. Lastly, report the scam to the
FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.⁶

The scam industry is a billion-dollar enterprise.⁷ Scammers are good at what they do and are
always evolving. If you paid a scammer, you may be able to get your
money back by contacting the company you used to send the money and
asking them to either cancel or reverse the payment.⁸ If you gave a scammer personal
information, such as your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov to make a recovery plan.⁹ If you gave the scammer a password,
create a new, strong password for all accounts that use that
password. Better yet, create multiple new, strong passwords.¹⁰ If the scammer has remote access to your
computer, update your computer’s security software and delete
any identified issues.¹¹

Businesses also need to be on the lookout. Scammers capitalize
on businesses’ goodwill, and as most readers know, goodwill
does not come easy or cheap. Businesses should have monitoring
practices in place to quickly identify new scams. Customer service
representatives should flag and escalate any incoming questions or
customer reports, and businesses should quickly add information to
their website, either as a blog post or under the “Frequently
Asked Questions” section.

On April 1, the FTC’s new Rule on Impersonation of
Government and Businesses went into effect.¹² The rule
states that it is a violation to “materially and falsely pose
as … a business or officer thereof,” or to “materially
misrepresent … affiliation with, including endorsement or
sponsorship by, a business or officer thereof.”¹³ Because of the new rule, the FTC can
more efficiently recover money for consumers under section 19(b) of
the FTC Act and violators can be subject to civil penalties. The
new rule does not limit the rights or remedies available to
trademark owners under the Lanham Act or the Anti-Cybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act.¹⁴

Scammers are here to stay. It is on businesses and individuals
to continue to stay one step ahead.

Footnotes

To read Kattison Avenue | Issue 12, please click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.