Government email alert system GovDelivery used to send scam messages

An email notification strategy utilized by U.S. national and authorities authorities departments to alert residents to important information, has been utilized to nonstop scam emails, TechCrunch has learned.

The U.S. authorities of Indiana said Tuesday that it is “aware of fraudulent messages purportedly sent by authorities agencies” to residents astir unpaid tolls. TechCrunch has seen 1 email connection sent from an Indiana authorities section that claimed the recipient had an outstanding toll balance, and contained a disguised nexus that redirected to a malicious site.

A connection from the Indiana Office of Technology said it was “working with the institution that was utilized to present those messages to halt immoderate further communication.” 

Indiana said a contractor’s relationship was hacked and utilized to nonstop the scam messages. The authorities said it was not alert of “any existent authorities systems” being compromised, but did not regularisation retired an earlier breach.

The connection said that the declaration with the unspecified company, which TechCrunch has learned is govtech elephantine Granicus, ended successful December 2024, but the authorities claimed that the institution “did not region the state’s account.” 

When reached for comment, Granicus spokesperson Sharon Rushen told TechCrunch: “We are alert of the caller malicious emails sent via GovDelivery from Indiana’s authorities domain.” The institution confirmed the breach was caused by a compromised idiosyncratic account, but did not remark connected Indiana’s claims.

“Granicus systems themselves were not breached,” said Rushen. When asked, the institution said it does person the method means to find however galore individuals received the malicious emails, but did not instantly supply a fig of those affected.

Fake toll messages are an progressively communal scam, arsenic the Federal Trade Commission warned successful January. The scam involves sending substance messages and emails that assertion the recipients beryllium wealth to tolling agencies crossed the United States. By targeting email systems utilized by governments to notify the public, scammers are hoping victims would beryllium much apt to unfastened official-looking emails.

A idiosyncratic who received the scam connection shared the email with TechCrunch. The scam email was sent from an authoritative Indiana authorities email code associated with the state’s Emergency Operations Center, which coordinates responses and alerts successful the lawsuit of a earthy catastrophe oregon different exigency events. The email claimed the recipient had unpaid tolls successful Texas, and that “failure to wage whitethorn effect successful penalties oregon conveyance registration holds.”

The scam email contained a link, which appears arsenic an authoritative govdelivery.com web address, but erstwhile clicked redirects to a malicious tract impersonating the website of authorities of Texas’ Department of Transport’s roadworthy toll postulation service, TxTag. 

The scam website attempted to instrumentality users into turning implicit their idiosyncratic information, specified arsenic their name, telephone number, location address, and their recognition paper details. The tract (and different clone tract hosted connected a akin domain) appeared to beryllium offline arsenic of Tuesday greeting connected the U.S. eastbound coast.

A spokesperson for the Indiana authorities did not instantly comment.