Beware of Sleazy Marketing Campaign

It has happened again, and it prompted the Office for Civil Rights to send out notification warning recipients that this is not a legitimate request from their offices. It’s a postcard sent in the mail that was sent from Washington DC and presents itself as an official government document. Here’s a picture of the postcard:

This is a deceptive postcard. The address listed is a PO Box in the Washington DC area, an address anyone, anywhere in the country, can obtain. We discourage anyone from doing business with a company that would engage in sleazy and deceptive marketing tactics like this. Whether it’s marketing a service or a supposed advisory regarding COVID19, fake governmental communications are on the rise, and they’re snaring too many of us. As a general rule, never use the information provided from a mail, email, or phone call to communicate with the sender. Instead, search for the number yourself online, and call that number.

A final word on security risk assessments (SRA). These reports should not be taken lightly. A SRA contains extremely sensitive information on your organization. In the wrong hands, it can be used as the basis for launching a cyber-attack on you. The most common attacks we are seeing include ransomware attacks with data theft. The uptick in attacks that began with the advent of COVID 19 last year has continued unabated, and recklessly sharing information like this will not slow things down.

Keep your guard up and always think before you click a link or open an email attachment.

If you have any questions or if you are concerned about your organization’s cybersecurity, give us a call at (800) 970-0402. We’ll be happy to help.

For more HIPAA information, download our ebook – The Ultimate HIPAA Compliance Handbook.

The HIPAA Security Rule requires the implementation of a security awareness and training program for all members of its workforce (including management). Have your team sign up for a weekly HIPAA Security Reminder to help stay compliant.