Louisiana Department of Insurance Warns of Online Scams After Francine

The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) is warning residents to be aware of online scams related to insurance claims caused by Hurricane Francine.

LDI has detected an increase in online advertising activity related to Hurricane Francine, some of which attempts to mislead or defraud consumers recovering from the storm. LDI is aware of a recent case where scammers created a website to exploit trending searches, phish personal information, transmit viruses and send malware. Thanks to a coordinated effort with one of LDI’s anti-fraud partners, Google flagged the site to make consumers aware of its predatory activity.

“While we have increased our focus on insurance fraud activity and invested in new programs to monitor these bad actors, I urge residents to exercise caution when searching for insurance information online, especially searches related to hurricane insurance claims Francine,” said the commissioner. Tim Temple. “We will continue to actively monitor this type of activity and take appropriate action to protect consumers.”

LDI offers the following tips to protect your online searches:

• Get information from trusted sources. In particular, the LDI website and new mobile app, available through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, are good sources for reliable information.

• Use trusted web browsers such as Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge. These sites offer built-in security features that help protect against malicious sites.

• Always check each link in the search results before clicking on it. If in doubt, do not click on the link.

• Use reputable security software and antivirus detection software to protect your device from potential threats.

• Keep your apps and devices up-to-date to help detect vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit to attack computers, phones or mobile devices.

Source: LDI

TOPICS
Louisiana