Security News > 2021 > July > 21-Year-Old Woman Pleads Guilty to Sending Phishing Emails to Political Candidates

A 21-year-old Rhode Island woman has pleaded guilty to targeting candidates for political office and their campaign staff with phishing emails.

The woman, Diana Lebeau, of Cranston, R.I., admitted in court to sending phishing emails to roughly 22 members of the campaign staff of a political candidate, posing as the campaign's managers or co-chairs.

According to the United States Department of Justice, Lebeau sent phishing emails to the candidate's spouse and to other recipients at the spouse's workplace.

Pretending to come from Microsoft's "Security Team" or from someone from the workplace's technology helpdesk, the emails instructed the recipients to share account credentials and other details about their computers, either by entering them in a spreadsheet or on a website that spoofed that of the employer's legitimate domain.

A couple of months later, the woman allegedly sent phishing emails to another candidate for political office.

Claiming to have arrived from the candidate's cable and internet provider, the emails contained a link that requested the recipient to provide credentials to address a so-called issue with their account.

News URL

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/securityweek/~3/4hv7PHA4r2o/21-year-old-woman-pleads-guilty-sending-phishing-emails-political-candidates