LGBTQ+ community in Washington, D.C. targeted in payroll phishing scam

A new phishing scam is targeting members of the trans community in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Scammers sent fictitious emails to the employers of at least two trans individuals, trying to redirect their payroll to a bogus account, local NBC affiliate WRC-TV reports. Experts say such scams are commonplace and evolving, and one victim says it’s symptomatic of the rising climate of transphobic hate in the country.

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Phishing scams use emails or text messages to steal personal confidential information like passwords and Social Security numbers, which can be used to access a person’s personal and financial accounts. In extreme cases, scammers can empty bank accounts, assume a person’s identity to make large purchases, or even sell a person’s house.

SC Nealy, who identifies as nonbinary, gender fluid, and queer, said they fell victim to a payroll fishing scam at the company they founded, LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. While working on payroll, they received what looked like an email from an employee asking to change their banking information.

“Before the next payroll will be issued, I need to replace the account where my most recent deposit was made due to a bank change,” the email read. “What information is required?”

Nealy, a psychotherapist and author, told WRC-TV they were not suspicious and asked for a voided check showing the new bank and account. After receiving the check, Nealy made the requested changes.

Only after speaking with the employee in person at the office a short time later did they realize the email was not from the employee and they had fallen victim to a phishing scam.

example courtesy Federal Trade Commission

SK Smigiel also almost fell victim to the scam. The employer of the nonbinary creator, storyteller, and activist received a similar email requesting to change their banking information. Smigiel said they believe scammers used a post to social media to gather the information they needed to target them.

“Since the election, I’ve been doing a lot of discussion about trans rights and stuff, and my platform is very visible, so I was wondering how they were connected,” Smigiel said. “But I had literally the day before just shared a post and tagged my studio in it on my story on Instagram, so I immediately had this connection that this person must have seen that,” Smigiel said.

Nealy said the scam is another attempt to marginalize the trans community.

“And not just with the phishing emails,” Nealy said. “The fake consultation requests that aren’t actually real, the hate mail, things like that.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says such phishing scams are all too common. Scammers usually attempt to get the recipient to provide personal information or click on a link that contains malware. FTC Consumer Advice says there are three warning signs of a phishing scam.

• The message has a generic greeting.
• The message says your account is on hold because of a billing problem.
• The message invites you to click on a link to update your payment details.

The FTC recommends the following steps to protect yourself:

• Protect your cell phone by setting software to update automatically.
• Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication.
• Protect your data by backing it up.
• Protect your computer by using security software.