A new phishing scam is currently targeting members of the United States Military and their families.
Reported by the Web security firm AppRiver, the scam is aimed at the USAA – the United Services Automobile Association – a financial services firm for current and former members of the military.
The e-mails contain titles such as “USAA Notification,” “Urgent Message for USAA Customer,” and “Security Alert.” Once a user clicks on a link in the fraudulent message, he is taken to a fake login page and asked to enter personal USAA information. Because the entire setup is fraudulent, the information then becomes the property of the hacker.
An AppRiver blog sums up the nature of those behind this scam, reading, “Cybercriminals have no trepidation about ripping off anyone and everyone they can.”
"Although we do see phishing attempts directed at USAA members among hundreds of other financial firms on a regular basis, this is one of the more intricate and widespread phishing campaigns that we have seen in quite some time,” the blog read.
AppRiver reported it is currently monitoring and blocking more than 1,500 domains involved in the scam, and urges people never to submit personal or financial information through links sent via e-mail.
USAA spokesman Roger Wildermuth told SecurityNewsDaily, "The security of member information is very important to us. We are aware of this situation, and we are actively monitoring it and working to protect our members. We have posted an alert on usaa.com to notify our members and we continuously monitor our members’ account activities to guard against fraud and identify theft."