Email Scammers Pose As Your Boss, Annapolis Police Warn

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A scam email being sent to Annapolis area businesses poses as coming from your boss and asks for gift cards, authorities say. It's a new twist on a common phishing scam that has been around for years where criminals impersonate or spoof the email address of a company executive and request wire transfers of thousands of dollars. Because the scammers ask for tremendous amounts of money, it's easy to spot, Annapolis Police said on Facebook.

Phishing is when a scammer uses fraudulent emails or texts, or copycat websites, to get you to share login names and passwords.

So crooks have adapted the scam to ask for smaller gift-card payouts and targeted businesses in Annapolis recently, officials said. The bogus emails appear to come from your boss and are addressed to you. While there are minor grammatical and spelling errors in the emails, they are not significant.

What you can watch for is who the email is from. It may say "Joe Smith", your boss's name, but when you click reply, review the actual email address - if it is not exactly correct then the email has been spoofed. Do not reply, police warn. If the reply does say the correct address, but still seems to be a "phishy" email, call the person.

Police say this is a sample of what the initial contact email might look like:
Hi _____,
Are you in the office? There is something i need you to do. I am going into a meeting now, so kindly reply my email ASAP.
Thanks
Joe Smith
Sent from my iPad

If you reply, the scammer posing as your boss will tell you to purchase iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, etc gift cards and relay the numbers to them.

The Center for Internet Security has posted samples of bogus emails that you can check out.

How to Spot a Scam Email:

In general, it's best not to click on links that come in unsolicited emails. Instead, says the Better Business Bureau, go to your browser and search for the organization if you want more information.

• Check out the "From" field: Scammers hide email addresses, making the message appear to come from a legitimate source. Look out for email addresses that don't match the brand used in the email message.
• Watch for typos, strange phrasing and bad grammar. Scammers can easily copy a brand's logo and email format, but awkward wording and poor grammar are a sign that the message is a scam.
• Hover over URLs to reveal their true destination. Typically, the hyperlinked text will say one thing, but the link will point somewhere else. Scammers either set up fake websites or hack into third-party sites and use them to host malware.

If you become a victim of an email scam call Annapolis Police at 410-268-4141 to report it.

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