More than 350 organizations and nearly 1,800 email addresses were discovered by Proofpoint researchers to have been targeted by a new phishing fraud scheme involving the spoofing of the Department of Government Efficiency initially flagged by the Scoop News Group, according to FedScoop.
Malicious emails claiming to be from an Agent Daniels connected with the DOGE Coordination Unit that allege the delivery of an ID to the recipient contained links redirecting to a WhatsApp chat, where the fraudster sends a PDF that was purported to be necessary in the recipient's procurement of refunds from "improper government expenditures," said Proofpoint researchers, who noted the document as key for hackers to obtain targets' personally identifiable information. Additional analysis of the IP addresses leveraged in the intrusion revealed origins in southern Nigeria. Such a threat has prompted the Office of Personnel Management and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to urge increased vigilance among federal workers and the public.
Malicious emails claiming to be from an Agent Daniels connected with the DOGE Coordination Unit that allege the delivery of an ID to the recipient contained links redirecting to a WhatsApp chat, where the fraudster sends a PDF that was purported to be necessary in the recipient's procurement of refunds from "improper government expenditures," said Proofpoint researchers, who noted the document as key for hackers to obtain targets' personally identifiable information. Additional analysis of the IP addresses leveraged in the intrusion revealed origins in southern Nigeria. Such a threat has prompted the Office of Personnel Management and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to urge increased vigilance among federal workers and the public.
