Scammers Exploit Uncertainty Surrounding US Tariffs
Cybersecurity experts are warning that scammers are taking advantage of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. administration’s tariff policies, CNBC reports.
Fraudsters may send texts or emails posing as retailers, delivery companies or government agencies, requesting tariff-related payments for purchases and deliveries.
James Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, noted that scammers frequently take advantage of new government policies to launch phishing attacks. In this case, Lee says the crooks “will use the fact that people don’t know a lot about tariffs.”
Researchers at BforeAI observed over three hundred tariff-themed potential phishing sites during the first three months of 2025.
“PreCrime Labs analysis projects additional increases in domain registrations as the fallout from these political actions gains momentum,” the researchers wrote. “This presents various avenues for exploitation, such as the rise of fraudulent businesses providing tariff-related services or educational resources on the new legislation.
“Therefore, it is strongly recommended that users thoroughly inspect newly formed consultancies, agencies, and cryptocurrency coins before engaging with them, as they may be designed to harvest personal information, further trapping users in financial scams.”
Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, told CNBC that users should be wary of emails, texts or social media ads that convey a sense of urgency related to tariff payments. Additionally, users should be on the lookout for phishing sites that impersonate retailers or government agencies. Another red flag is a lack of transparency, according to Payton. Legitimate sellers will clearly label tariff-related fees.
New-school security awCybersecurity experts are warning that scammers are taking advantage of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. administration’s tariff policies, CNBC reports.
Fraudsters may send texts or emails posing as retailers, delivery companies or government agencies, requesting tariff-related payments for purchases and deliveries.
James Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, noted that scammers frequently take advantage of new government policies to launch phishing attacks. In this case, Lee says the crooks “will use the fact that people don’t know a lot about tariffs.”
Researchers at BforeAI observed over three hundred tariff-themed potential phishing sites during the first three months of 2025.
“PreCrime Labs analysis projects additional increases in domain registrations as the fallout from these political actions gains momentum,” the researchers wrote. “This presents various avenues for exploitation, such as the rise of fraudulent businesses providing tariff-related services or educational resources on the new legislation.
“Therefore, it is strongly recommended that users thoroughly inspect newly formed consultancies, agencies, and cryptocurrency coins before engaging with them, as they may be designed to harvest personal information, further trapping users in financial scams.”
Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, told CNBC that users should be wary of emails, texts or social media ads that convey a sense of urgency related to tariff payments. Additionally, users should be on the lookout for phishing sites that impersonate retailers or government agencies. Another red flag is a lack of transparency, according to Payton. Legitimate sellers will clearly label tariff-related fees.
New-school sCybersecurity experts are warning that scammers are taking advantage of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. administration’s tariff policies, CNBC reports.
Fraudsters may send texts or emails posing as retailers, delivery companies or government agencies, requesting tariff-related payments for purchases and deliveries.
James Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, noted that scammers frequently take advantage of new government policies to launch phishing attacks. In this case, Lee says the crooks “will use the fact that people don’t know a lot about tariffs.”
Researchers at BforeAI observed over three hundred tariff-themed potential phishing sites during the first three months of 2025.
“PreCrime Labs analysis projects additional increases in domain registrations as the fallout from these political actions gains momentum,” the researchers wrote. “This presents various avenues for exploitation, such as the rise of fraudulent businesses providing tariff-related services or educational resources on the new legislation.
“Therefore, it is strongly recommended that users thoroughly inspect newly formed consultancies, agencies, and cryptocurrency coins before engaging with them, as they may be designed to harvest personal information, further trapping users in financial scams.”
Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, told CNBC that users should be wary of emails, texts or social media ads that convey a sense of urgency related to tariff payments. Additionally, users should be on the lookout for phishing sites that impersonate retailers or government agencies. Another red flag is a lack of transparency, according to Payton. Legitimate sellers will clearly label tariff-related fees.
New-school security awareness training can enable your employees to keep up with the evolving threat landscape. KnowBe4 empowers your workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Over 70,000 organizations worldwide trust the KnowBe4 platform to strengthen their security culture and reduce human risk.
CNBC has the story.
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KnowBe4’s Phishing Reply Test (PRT) is a complimentary IT security tool that makes it easy for you to check to see if key users in your organization will reply to a highly targeted phishing attack without clicking on a link. PRT will give you quick insights into how many users will take the bait so you can take action to train your users and better protect your organization from these fraudulent attacks!
Here’s how it works:
- Immediately start your test with your choice of three phishing email reply scenarios
- Spoof a Sender’s name and email address your users know and trust
- Phishes for user replies and returns the results to you within minutes
- Get a PDF emailed to you within 24 hours with the percentage of users that replied
PS: Don’t like to click on redirected buttons? Cut & Paste this link in your browser:https://info.knowbe4.com/phishing-reply-test-partner?partnerid=001a000001lWEoJAAW
https://www.knowbe4.com/phishing-reply-testareness training can enable your employees to keep up with the evolving threat landscape. KnowBe4 empowers your workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Over 70,000 organizations worldwide trust the KnowBe4 platform to strengthen their security culture and reduce human risk.
CNBC has the story.
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