Skip to main content

Scammers are targeting plastic surgery clinics with extortion scams

Cybercriminals are targeting plastic surgery offices with ransomware, and are using stolen sensitive information to pressure the businesses into paying the ransom demands. Organizations and their workers are urged to tighten up on cybersecurity, work on their privacy on the internet, and be vigilant when getting email and social media messages.

This warning was given out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) earlier this week, BleepingComputer reported.

As per the FBI’s warning, hackers are calling plastic surgery offices on the phone and inquiring about active email addresses. Then, they reach out via email, trying to trick the workers into downloading and running ransomware. After that, they’d use the access to steal sensitive information, personally identifiable data, but also sensitive medical records which, in some cases, include intimate photos.

Peer pressure

Then, they would pair this information with other data on the victims, available elsewhere on the internet. That can include information on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), and similar. 

The final step is to reach out to plastic surgeons and patients, threatening to release the data online unless they pay an extortion demand. In some cases, the attackers would send the information to close relatives or friends, to exert even more pressure on the victim.

In a statement given to BleepingComputer, the American Board of Plastic Surgery said it was actively working with the FBI on this. “As the FBI is the prime investigator, the Board cannot comment on the extent of those affected at this time,” it said.

The FBI’s warning also comes with a few suggestions on how to stay safe. The law enforcement agency advised plastic surgeons to configure their social media profiles for maximum privacy and carefully analyze who they have in their friends/followers list. Having strong, regularly updated passwords is also a recommendation, as well as monitoring bank accounts and credit reports. 

More from TechRadar Pro



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TechRadar's Year in Review: AI revolution, smartphone evolution, and visions of the future

If I had to sum up 2023 in one word it would be AI. Okay, technically that’s two initials, but let’s not quibble – because there’s no doubt that it provided the year in tech with its main story arc. Artificial intelligence was everywhere this year, as every company in the world gawped at the massive impact of ChatGPT, and decided they wanted to jump aboard that bandwagon. You could barely move for new chatbots, new image generators, and new AI-enhanced features in every device released in 2023. And there’s no sign of that changing in 2024; in fact, we expect it to be an even bigger deal. Elsewhere, phones and laptops did much the same as they had the previous year – well, except where they had new AI-enhanced features – so it was in the virtual reality space where bigger changes were afoot. If the Meta Quest 3 was impressive then the Apple Vision Pro looks to be genuinely game-changing, and we can’t wait to see what impact it has in the next 12 months. Of course we also saw plenty ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Microsoft and Sony enter "binding agreement" to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft has announced that it has reached a "binding agreement" with Sony, pledging to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  With Microsoft having won its anti-trust case with the US Federal Trade Commission , its planned acquisition of Call of Duty developers Activision Blizzard has taken a big step closer to becoming a reality. In order to alleviate the concerns of monopoly-building that got Microsoft in legal hot water to begin with, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, announced yesterday via Tweet that it has entered into an "agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation."  This agreement will no doubt come as a relief to fans concerned that Microsoft's acquisition plans might result in Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive, following in the footsteps of future Bethesda releases. Since Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda caused the studio to break its tradition of offering titles cross-platform for upcomi...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Stardew Valley-like farming sim plays at the bottom of your screen so you work and play at the same time

Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing are among some of the best choices out there if you're looking for a game to get swept up in for hours at a time. But, if you're a fan of management sims and a multitasker as well, this upcoming farming sim will likely pique your interest.  Developed by Mister Morris Games, Rusty's Retirement is an idle-farming simulation game that runs at the bottom of your gaming monitor, allowing you to focus on other tasks like working while you tend to your crops. Set to release in Q1 2024 on Steam , the idle sim puts you in the shoes of a wholesome robot as you grow crops and use them to produce clean and energy-efficient biofuel. Having gathered this "vital robot power source," you'll then need to sell your harvest to the other machine inhabitants of your settlement. This, in turn, will let you reinvest the money into expanding your farm. If you're a terrible procrastinator (like me) this might not sound like your cup of tea...
Post a Comment
Read more