We have seen a rise in phishing scams with fraudsters using the names of Illinois REALTORS® officers and staff to trick our members into clicking on and opening suspicious links and PDFs. In some cases, the scams have included a financial request. Don’t be fooled. If in doubt, feel free to forward the email to [email protected] immediately.
Here’s some quick tips to protect yourself:
Key Red Flags
- Senders Address: The display name might say an officer’s or staff name, but the actual email address (e.g., [email protected]) won’t match our official email domain. Emails from Illinois REALTORS® staff come from an illinoisrealtors.org domain
- False Urgency: The email requests you act immediately before you can think or double-check. Or, the board member or staff is “in a meeting” or “traveling” and need you to do a “quick favor.”
- Odd Requests: Our leadership will never ask you to buy gift cards or share personal financial information.
Protect Yourself
- Verify Independently: Never reply directly to a suspicious message. Forward the email to [email protected] to determine if it is indeed a scam.
- Don’t Click It: Avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from unverified senders.
- Report It: To protect yourself and your colleagues, before deleting a suspicious email, forward it to [email protected].
