Jackson, Miss- The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office has received reports of a “phishing” scam that targets Mississippians who use EPPICards to receive child support and unemployment compensation benefits.  Attorney General Jim Hood warns residents to be aware of this scam and others like it.

Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information.

The EPPICard is considered a safe and secure way to access payments. However, a scam artist is targeting people who use these cards by sending emails claiming they will be limiting access to their account until they send further information. An example of the email is as follows:

Dear EPPICard holder account,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity on the EPPICARD network. WE recently noticed the following issue on your account: A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional information from you in order to provide you with secure service. Case ID Number: PP-065-617-349 For your protection, we have limited access to your account until additional security measures can be completed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please update you EPPICard account to restore your access as soon as possible. You must click the link below and fill in the form on the following page to complete the verification process

Click here to update your account

In accordance with EPPICard User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resovled. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time,i it may result in further limitations and eventual account closure. WE encourage your to log in to your EPPICard account as soon as possible to help avoid this. We thank you fro your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account.

Clicking the link takes the user to a site almost identical to official EPPICard site and requests information such as the users card number, pin number, and social security number.

“These sites are very hard to distinguish from the real ones,” said Attorney General Jim Hood.  “EPPICard has posted a notice on their website warning users that they would never request personal information through email, text messaging, or phone calls.”

A classic tell-tale and really simple sign of a phishing scam is mis-spelled words as evident in the e-mail example above. For more consumer tips on phishing scams, go to http://www.agjimhood.com.  If you feel you have been a victim of such a scam, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection division at 601-359-4230.