Activity dating back to 2023 reveals malicious actors have impersonated senior U.S. state government, White House, and Cabinet level officials, as well as members of Congress to target individuals, including officials' family members and personal acquaintances. If you receive a message claiming to be from a current or former senior U.S. official, do not assume it is authentic and follow the below recommendations to identify suspicious messages.
Since at least 2023, malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior U.S. official to establish rapport with targeted individuals. In the scheme, actors contact and individual and briefly engage on a topic the victim is versed on, with a request to move communication to a secondary, encrypted mobile messaging application happening almost immediately. Once communication is established on an encrypted messaging application, actors continue to engage the victim in any number of ways, including but not limited to:
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