As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding our company, employees and independent representatives, we want to bring to your attention an important security matter. Recently, there have been incidents of scammers attempting to impersonate our CEO, Michael Fallquist, and other executives within our organization. These scammers employ sophisticated techniques to deceive individuals into providing sensitive information or transferring funds to fraudulent accounts.
We take this matter extremely seriously and want to ensure that all our team members are vigilant against these impersonation scams. It is crucial to remain cautious and follow proper protocols when communicating with anyone claiming to be an executive, especially when handling financial transactions or sensitive data.
Here are some essential tips to help you identify and avoid scams and other fraudulent activities.
Identifying signs of fraudulent emails and malicious attachments:
- Poor spelling and grammar: Most professional organizations proofread their communications.
- Example: An email from a reputed organization with spelling and grammar errors is suspicious.
- Requests for personal information: Legitimate entities typically don’t ask for sensitive data via email. Our executives will never ask you to share confidential login credentials, financial details, or personal information via email or phone.
- Example: A bank will never ask for your account details or personal identification numbers via email.
- Unusual sender email: The sender’s address doesn’t match the organization’s official domain. Always double-check the sender’s email address to ensure it matches the official company domain. Be cautious of slight variations or misspellings in the email address.
- Example: An email claiming to be from Microsoft, but the email address does not end in @microsoft.com.
- Urgent or Unusual Requests: Scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into quick action. If you receive any unusual or unexpected requests, take your time to confirm their legitimacy.
- Example: A scam may request that you send money to an account immediately because of an urgent situation or an executive needing immediate assistance.
- Unsolicited attachments: Be cautious about opening unexpected attachments or links.
- Example: An email from an unknown sender with an invoice or receipt attached that you weren’t expecting.
Incident Reporting:
If you encounter a suspicious email or communication with any of the warning signs above we encourage you to follow the recommendations below and report it to our Energy Advisor Support Team.
- Don’t click on any links or download any attachments from the suspicious email.
- Example: You’ve received an email that seems off. Rather than clicking on any links, please forward them to EASupport@ThinkEnergy.plus.
- Forward the suspicious email to the our Energy Advisor Support team.
- Example: Forward the suspicious email to EASupport@ThinkEnergy.plus.
- If you clicked a link or opened an attachment by mistake, immediately contact the IT security team.
- Example: If you’ve accidentally clicked on a suspicious link, immediately inform EA Support.
- Always err on the side of caution: If in doubt, report it.
- Example: Even if you’re unsure, reporting a potential threat is better than ignoring it.
Your role as Independent Representatives puts you at the forefront of our business, and your vigilance is crucial to maintaining a secure environment. We encourage an open culture where everyone looks out for each other’s well-being and safety.
If you have any questions or need further clarification on security practices, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our IT/security team. Your cooperation and diligence are greatly appreciated as we work together to protect our company from potential risks.
Thank you for your understanding and commitment to our collective security.
