The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a warning to FMCSA-registered entities of a phishing scam disguised as notice of a required safety audit.
Through an email, scammers pretending to be from FMCSA say a safety audit needs to be scheduled. An attached link appears to have a SAFER URL and mirrors the agency’s MC-150. However, the scam email requests input of the recipient’s Personal Identification Number (PIN), Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Social Security Number. This information would allow the unauthorized user access to the entity’s FMCSA account.
According to the FMCSA’s alert: “Communications relating to safety audits will typically come directly from an FMCSA dedicated mailbox, or from the entity within the State that has been assigned the responsibility to conduct the safety audit. While these emails typically end in a ‘.gov”, we encourage our stakeholders and customers to verify any email or communication they feel to be suspicious with the appropriate agency or contact your FMCSA Division Office directly to clarify.”
The alleged phishing example came from an email address ending in “dot-safer.com.”
FMCSA advises users to review available Federal Trade Commission (FTC) small business strategie for email authentication.
Email authentication technology makes it a lot harder for scammers to send phishing emails, according to the FTC. Its guide covers how to spot phishing scams and what to do in the event you are scammed.