Open enrollment has begun for
Obamacare as well as for health insurance plans offered by many employers. And
that means its prime time for fraudsters to target consumers with phishing
scams, disguised as official-looking open enrollment messages, in an attempt to
steal personal information.
Privacy and security experts
stress the need to remind those participating in open enrollment about the
dangers of phishing, including avoiding clicking on links in suspicious e-mails
that bring individuals to fake websites designed to gather information.
The open enrollment scams
typically involve e-mails that purport to be official communications about
health insurance but link the user to a fake employee or government web portal
designed to collect personal information that can be used to commit fraud. In
some cases, simply clicking to open the e-mail or a link it contains can lead
to an immediate malware infection, Kennedy says.
"People freak out when
they receive e-mails about their health benefits or new regulations, and the
possibility of losing [coverage] if they don't act," Kennedy says. That's
why so many consumers fall for the ploys.
In addition to spear-phishing
e-mails targeting employees at specific companies during open enrollment
season, scammers are also targeting consumers who are interested in shopping
for insurance on new state health insurance exchanges and seniors looking for
supplemental Medicare plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment