Voter Registration Phishing Emails are on the Rise During the U.S. Presidential Election
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- By Dawna M. Roberts
- Published: Oct 07, 2020
- Last Updated: Mar 18, 2022
During this highly contentious presidential election, hackers are working overtime phishing for social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, and more.
Fear Makes us Less Vigilant
Amidst the fear and confusion of COVID-19, citizens are also worried about the upcoming election. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of this and sending out droves of emails that look like they are coming from the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The perpetrators are spoofing an email address of eac@usa.gov to convince people it’s legitimate. The EAC is a real government agency that provides election information and support to the American people.
Because people are already on edge about the election and the state of affairs in the world today, they are clicking the link within the email, going to a fake website (made to look like the EAC). Once there, they are filling out information including their name, date of birth, mailing address, social security number, and driver’s license number. Handing over this information is a recipe for disaster and leaves voters wide open to identity theft.
According to Eric Howes of KnowBe4, “Whatever the intent behind this particular phishing attack, it should serve as a reminder that human beings — users, employees, citizens, and voters — are ‘soft targets’ for malicious actors.” He elaborated with, “This is especially true in turbulent times such as the present — when fear, confusion, and doubt are surging in the run-up to a historic election that just happens to fall in the middle of a catastrophic pandemic.”
The Emails to Watch Out For
Be very cautious if you receive any emails with the subject “voter registration application details couldn’t be confirmed.” Also, look for the language “Your Arizona voter’s registration application submitted has been reviewed by your County Clerk, and some few details couldnt be comfirmed,” within the body of the email. These are the messages being used to lure unsuspecting victims in so they click the malicious link. A big red flag is the poor spelling and grammar along with improper capitalization. These types of errors usually indicate a fraudulent email because non-native English speaking criminals write them.
In a statement about the emails on their website, the EAC claims that “The EAC does not store voter personally identifiable information or track individual voter registrations and is not sending out emails warning that your voter registration information may be incomplete.”
When users click the link, the malicious website spoofs ServiceArizona, a government-owned website, and even sports legitimate-looking logos. However, it has nothing to do with the government or the state of Arizona. However, Arizona is considered to be a potentially influential swing state in the upcoming election. Voters in Arizona and Wisconsin have received these fraudulent emails.
Threat researchers said they were sent through Sendgrid, a popular email service that recently experienced a serious data breach with many accounts hacked and misused.
Social Engineering Tactics
With the world in turmoil, social engineering tactics are working quite well for hackers and criminals. They are using our fear and insecurities to tap into poor judgment and snap decisions. They present a problem that panics the user, who then clicks the link and enters their information before they can think about it. These tactics are being used to swipe banking details and other information from victims in a wide variety of scams.
It is unclear if the goal was identity theft or election fraud, but one researcher was quoted as saying, “given the election angle…we cannot ignore the possibility that this phish may be part of an attempt by parties unknown to intervene in the election, either by seeding confusion and chaos in the election process or engaging in some form of election fraud.”
This is only one attack in recent weeks. Another last week purportedly used the Democratic National Committee as the lure to recruit Democratic volunteers and collect information.
The Safeguards in Place
The EAC also has safeguards in place on their server to counteract any phishing email campaigns. As explained on the website, the EAC uses one called “DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). The EAC implements a strict configuration of DMARC for emails that means unauthenticated messages are rejected at the email server, and reports of the attempted impersonation are reported to cybersecurity staff for investigation. In this instance, the malicious actors used an email address spoofing the usa.gov domain, which is not under EAC control.”
Additionally, the EAC reassures voters that they are monitoring the situation carefully and working with federal law enforcement to protect voters and apprehend the culprits responsible. If you receive a suspicious email asking for voter registration details, you can report it using this link.
What Voters Can Do to Stay Safe
The safest way to avoid identity theft and the loss of your personally identifiable information is to be cautious of all emails right now. Additionally, follow these tips:
- Never, ever click a link in an email. Always go to the web and type the address of a website in yourself.
- Always check the sender’s email address and headers to ensure it really came from the recipient listed.
- Use common sense and never give out personal information unless you initiated the interaction.
Also, before taking any kind of action, do a little research before becoming ensnared in a hackers trap.
