At least one American Dental Association member has reported receiving a phishing email appearing to come from an address containing ADA President Chad P. Gehani's name and including a link to "view member's details."
The email was not sent by Dr. Gehani. A phishing email disguises itself as coming from a trustworthy source in an attempt to obtain sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords, by tricking the recipient into clicking on a link or opening a document and then providing sensitive information.
If recipients clicked the link and entered their username or password, they should change their password as soon as possible. If they use that same username and password combination for any other online account, they should change their passwords for those as well.
If members receive a suspicious email regarding their member information or dues payment and they are not sure if it is legitimate, they should contact their state association or call the ADA toll-free number to confirm or deny the authenticity of the email.
The Federal Trade Commission also recommends phishing victims forward phishing emails to spam@uce.gov and reportphishing@apwg.org and report the incident to the commission at FTC.gov/complaint.
The ADA Center for Professional Success offers several ways member dentists can protect themselves against cyberattacks.
Steps include training staff on basic data security, backing up data regularly and keeping a copy off-site, being wary of attachments and web links included with suspicious emails, and maintaining cyber defenses such as anti-virus and anti-malware software.
To learn more, visit Success.ADA.org.
The ADA also offers a continuing education course on phishing at ebusiness.ADA.org.