FBI Nashville wants to raise awareness about the threat of criminal and cybercriminal activity targeting the music industry.
According to the FBI, cybercriminals have targeted various music industry employees and fans alike to steal funds and intellectual property.
In addition to targeting performing artists, criminals have also pretended to be performing artists themselves to target those primarily over the age of 60.
“A review of complaints submitted to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), along with our pending investigations, has identified clear trends in the tactics criminals are using to target employees in the music industry and fans alike,” said Terence G. Reilly, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Nashville Division. “We urge everyone to pause before taking action and to be wary of high-pressure tactics used by scammers.”
They have also gained unauthorized access to computers and social media accounts of music industry professionals and utilized extortion techniques.
The FBI offered a number of different ways to protect yourself, including keeping your systems and software up to date, creating strong and unique passphrases and using multi-factor authentication.
They also advise being careful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.
- Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network. If you must use unsecure Wi-Fi, use a VPN service that starts upon initial connection.
If you or someone you know is a victim of fraud, click here.
Victims aged 60 or over who need assistance filing an IC3 complaint can contact the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline, 1-833-FRAUD-11 (or 833-372-8311).
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at kelly.broderick@newschannel5.com.
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