CEO Scam Dupes Employees In Loudoun County: Police

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA—Three county residents were victimized this week by an email gift card scam made all the more guileful because it's masked as a request from one's boss, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The ruses were reported Wednesday, and occurred in the 44400 block of Atwater Drive in Ashburn, the 45400 block of Dulles Crossing Plaza in Sterling and the 25000 block of Graywacke Drive in Aldie.

In each instance, the person received an email that appeared to be from his or her supervisor—and, in one case, the company CEO. The employee was asked to obtain gift cards and then provide the information to the supposed boss. Each employee did so before realizing he or she had been bamboozled, after which police were contacted.

The FBI has tips to avoid such scams:

The scam typically starts with a spoofed email or text from a person of authority, such as a CEO or HR director, telling an employee to purchase gift cards for the executive to give away or to use to purchase items, say, for a Christmas party. The employee is told to send the gift card information, including the number and PIN, back to the “boss”—really the fraudster—who then can cash out the value before you know there is a problem.

• Look at the email header of the sender. Keep an eye out for email addresses that look similar to, but not the same as the ones used by your work supervisors or peers (abc_company.com vs. abc-company.com).
• Be wary of requests to buy multiple gift cards, even if the request seems ordinary.
• Watch out for grammatical errors or odd phrasing.
• Notice language that tries to pressure you to purchase the cards quickly.
• Finally, be wary if the sender asks you to send the gift card number and PIN back to him.
• Don’t rely on email alone. Talk to your CEO directly.