GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – The City of Gainesville is alerting residents of a phishing scam hitting your email inbox.
A post on the City of Gainesville Facebook page says people are receiving messages that look like a DocuSign email sent from the city.
The post says these emails are not from the City of Gainesville, and they warn you to not to click the link.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says scammers use email and text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. The FTC says if they get that information, they could access your email, bank, or other accounts.
The FTC says phishing emails often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might:
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information
- include an invoice you don’t recognize
- want you to click on a link to make a payment and the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund
- offer a coupon for free stuff
Gainesville officials say the best method for identifying these phishing attempts is to verify the sender email is from a legitimate City of Gainesville e-mail address which would come from the cityofgainesville.org domain.
IMPORTANT: They say no official City of Gainesville communication will be sent from”
- outlook.com
- gmail.com
- or similar domains
If you received one of these fake emails, your urged to report the phishing attempt to the Federal Trade Commission before deleting the message. If you have concerns, you can also call the city’s main phone line at 352-334-5000, then select option 0.