Alarming rise of fake legal requests: What it means for your privacy [Video]

Phishing emails are one of the most common tricks scammers use, but they’re usually easy to catch if you pay attention. Awkward grammar, random details and, most importantly, an unofficial email address are dead giveaways. For example, you might get an email saying your Apple ID’s been disabled, but the sender’s email won’t actually be from Apple. Now, though, scammers are finding ways to get around this.

According to the FBI, there’s been a recent rise in cybercriminal services using hacked police and government email accounts to send fake subpoenas and data requests to U.S.-based tech companies.

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What you need to know

The FBIhas seen a spike in criminal forum posts about emergency data requests and stolen email credentials from police departments and government agencies. Cybercriminals are getting into compromised U.S. and foreign government email accounts and using them …