This is an ACA Cybersecurity Alert:
The FBI has warned of recent criminal activity in which threat actors impersonate advisors and brokers online.
In a sophisticated scheme, threat actors search publicly available online information from websites that list names, registration numbers, and permissions for registered advisors and brokers. They gather credential information, build websites that impersonate these brokers and advisors, and use these sites to scam individual clients of their funds.
The scheme was discovered when scammed clients complained to the real firms that were spoofed. Reverse image searches enabled investigators to trace back and identify the fraudulent scheme.
Efforts are being made to take down the identified fraudulent sites, though delays are likely due to the need to present a required degree of evidence of copyright infringement to enable the forced removal of the illicit content.
Hackers can impersonate sites and emails to look like anything they need for a scam. For example, our domain is sendero.com and our email address is @sendero.com but “sender0.com” looks close to our domain but has nothing to do with us. Always be aware of the web address you are viewing and refrain from clicking on links in emails or text.
Think before you click.
If you ever suspect a fraudulent activity with someone impersonating us or another vendor, please pick up the phone and call. It is the surest way to protect yourself.
For more information: ACA
David Coull
Senior Systems Administrator
210-805-0171
