Phishing scam uses public's right to information to target state and local governments
Hoosiers can request a broad range of information from their local and state governments, such as police reports, contracts, policies and email communications.
A recent phishing attack is twisting that right to information into a means to scam state and local government workers.
Employees have reported that a recent surge of emails are posing as public records requests and encouraging records to be uploaded to a hyperlink.
The Indiana Office of Technology is aware of the emails and has found them to be fraudulent, according to one of its email newsletters.
Spokesperson Aliya Wishner said the city of Indianapolis' information services agency is aware of the phishing scam. The city uses a software system to fulfill records requests, not through email.
One of the phishing emails obtained by IndyStar was sent from the domain "@recordsretrievalsolutions" and sought five years of information about an agency's purchase orders.
Indiana's technology office said employees should be cautious with any emails from that domain and any contacts from Records Retrieval Solutions. The office said the scammers are pretending to be the Florida-based company.
In light of the phishing scam, the office recommends that workers question whether a records requests is legitimate. Guidance includes contacting the sender to discuss the request, verifying the entity that's making the request, and searching the email text for red flags like hyperlinks.
Under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, members of the public have the right to request a wide swath of information held by government agencies. Some information may be withheld or redacted for legal or investigation reasons.
The USA TODAY Network - Indiana's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fearful of Iranian missiles, many sleep in Israel's underground train stations
RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — Aziza Melech felt her body relax for the first time in days when she settled onto her inflatable mattress in an underground station of Israel's light rail system on a recent evening. For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn't need to run every time a siren warning of Iranian missiles sounded. Since the war began a week ago with Israel's airstrikes on Iran, families with young kids, foreign workers, and young professionals have brought mattresses and sleeping bags, snacks and pets into the stations each evening. On Wednesday night, in a station that straddles Tel Aviv and neighboring Ramat Gan, parents settled in their kids with stuffed animals, while young people fired up tablets loaded with movies. Many walked in carrying boxes of pizza. Workers set out snacks and coffee. It was Melech's first night sleeping in the brightly lit train station, and she was joined by her friend Sonia Shraibmen. 'We're not sleeping because of the anxiety and because of the sirens that are happening during the nights,' said Shraibmen. 'It's very scary to run every time to the shelter.' That morning, Shraibmen fell on the street while rushing to a nearby shelter, and decided to move somewhere where she wouldn't have to get up and run each time her phone blared. Melech said the scene, with hundreds of people in their pajamas in the train station, reminded her of her grandfather's stories from World War II. 'Now, we'll be able to tell our grandkids about this,' she said. The war between Israel and Iran began on June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites as well as top generals and nuclear scientists. More than 600 people, including over 200 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. People in Tehran have also packed into metro stations as strikes boomed overhead. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Those strikes have killed have killed 24 people and injured hundreds in Israel. Missiles have struck 40 different sites, including apartment buildings, offices and a hospital, according to authorities. Footage of pancaked buildings or apartment towers with faces sheared off has forced some people to reconsider what they do when a siren blares. The Tel Aviv light rail, which is not running because of the war, has several underground stations. In addition to the hundreds who sleep in them each night, thousands of others come only when when there's a siren, crowding into every part of the station not taken up by mattresses. Those living older apartments lack shelter Around half of the nighttime residents at the train station are foreign workers, who often live in older apartment buildings that are often not equipped with adequate shelters. While new buildings in Israel are required to have reinforced safe rooms meant to withstand rockets, Iran is firing much stronger ballistic missiles. And shelter access is severely lacking in poorer neighborhoods and towns, especially in Arab areas. Babu Chinabery, a home health aide from India, said he went to the station 'because we are very scared about the missiles because they're so strong.' Chinabery, 48, has been in Israel for 10 years, so he is no stranger to the sirens. But the past week has been something different. 'It's very difficult, that's why we're coming to sleep here,' he said. The light rail stations aren't the only places people have sought shelter. Around 400 people also sleep in an underground parking garage at one of the city's biggest malls each night, according to organizers. Mutual aid groups set up more than 100 tents, each one in a parking space, providing a bit more privacy for people who wanted to sleep in a safe area. Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station — a half-abandoned cement behemoth — also opened its underground atomic shelter to the public for the first time in years. While likely one of the safest places in Israel during a missile attack, the creepily deserted rat- and cockroach-infested shelter, filled with standing water from leaky pipes, attracted only a handful of curious onlookers during the day and no residents at night. Not taking 'unnecessary risks' Roi Asraf, 45, has been sleeping at the train station in Ramat Gan for the past few nights with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, even though they have a safe room at home. 'I don't like to take unnecessary risks,' he said. They now have the routine down: They give their daughter a bath at home, get everyone in their pajamas, and walk to the train station by 7 p.m. Local volunteers have run a nightly show for kids to help settle them before sleep. 'I hope (the conflict) will be short and quick,' said Asraf, after his daughter, Ariel, bounded off with her mom to catch the show. Despite the difficulties, he supports Israel's attack on Iran. 'If I have to sleep a week of my life in a train station for everything to be safer, I'm willing to do it,' he said.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Fearful of Iranian missiles, many sleep in Israel's underground train stations
RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — Aziza Melech felt her body relax for the first time in days when she settled onto her inflatable mattress in an underground station of Israel's light rail system on a recent evening. For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn't need to run every time a siren warning of Iranian missiles sounded. Since the war began a week ago with Israel's airstrikes on Iran, families with young kids, foreign workers, and young professionals have brought mattresses and sleeping bags, snacks and pets into the stations each evening. On Wednesday night, in a station that straddles Tel Aviv and neighboring Ramat Gan, parents settled in their kids with stuffed animals, while young people fired up tablets loaded with movies. Many walked in carrying boxes of pizza. Workers set out snacks and coffee. It was Melech's first night sleeping in the brightly lit train station, and she was joined by her friend Sonia Shraibmen. 'We're not sleeping because of the anxiety and because of the sirens that are happening during the nights,' said Shraibmen. 'It's very scary to run every time to the shelter.' That morning, Shraibmen fell on the street while rushing to a nearby shelter, and decided to move somewhere where she wouldn't have to get up and run each time her phone blared. Melech said the scene, with hundreds of people in their pajamas in the train station, reminded her of her grandfather's stories from World War II. 'Now, we'll be able to tell our grandkids about this,' she said. The war between Israel and Iran began on June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites as well as top generals and nuclear scientists. More than 600 people, including over 200 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. People in Tehran have also packed into metro stations as strikes boomed overhead. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Those strikes have killed have killed 24 people and injured hundreds in Israel. Missiles have struck 40 different sites, including apartment buildings, offices and a hospital, according to authorities. Footage of pancaked buildings or apartment towers with faces sheared off has forced some people to reconsider what they do when a siren blares. The Tel Aviv light rail, which is not running because of the war, has several underground stations. In addition to the hundreds who sleep in them each night, thousands of others come only when when there's a siren, crowding into every part of the station not taken up by mattresses. Around half of the nighttime residents at the train station are foreign workers, who often live in older apartment buildings that are often not equipped with adequate shelters. While new buildings in Israel are required to have reinforced safe rooms meant to withstand rockets, Iran is firing much stronger ballistic missiles. And shelter access is severely lacking in poorer neighborhoods and towns, especially in Arab areas. Babu Chinabery, a home health aide from India, said he went to the station 'because we are very scared about the missiles because they're so strong.' Chinabery, 48, has been in Israel for 10 years, so he is no stranger to the sirens. But the past week has been something different. 'It's very difficult, that's why we're coming to sleep here,' he said. The light rail stations aren't the only places people have sought shelter. Around 400 people also sleep in an underground parking garage at one of the city's biggest malls each night, according to organizers. Mutual aid groups set up more than 100 tents, each one in a parking space, providing a bit more privacy for people who wanted to sleep in a safe area. Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station — a half-abandoned cement behemoth — also opened its underground atomic shelter to the public for the first time in years. While likely one of the safest places in Israel during a missile attack, the creepily deserted rat- and cockroach-infested shelter, filled with standing water from leaky pipes, attracted only a handful of curious onlookers during the day and no residents at night. Roi Asraf, 45, has been sleeping at the train station in Ramat Gan for the past few nights with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, even though they have a safe room at home. 'I don't like to take unnecessary risks,' he said. They now have the routine down: They give their daughter a bath at home, get everyone in their pajamas, and walk to the train station by 7 p.m. Local volunteers have run a nightly show for kids to help settle them before sleep. 'I hope (the conflict) will be short and quick,' said Asraf, after his daughter, Ariel, bounded off with her mom to catch the show. Despite the difficulties, he supports Israel's attack on Iran. 'If I have to sleep a week of my life in a train station for everything to be safer, I'm willing to do it,' he said.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
EV owners don't pay gas taxes. In Minnesota next year, they'll pay double or more to register their cars
Starting next year, Minnesota electric vehicle owners will have to pay at least double to register their EVs. Blame the change on their freedom from gas taxes. A provision in the transportation bill that passed earlier this month raises the EV registration surcharge from $75 to at least $150. Drivers of plug-in-hybrids will also have to pay a minimum of $75 to register their vehicles. The new fees, which go into effect in January, will scale up with more expensive vehicles - meaning some drivers could see their annual registration costs hit $200 or more. For years, Minnesota lawmakers have debated how to fill a growing gap in roadway funds as more fuel efficient cars and trucks, as well as more electric vehicles, leads to less revenue from the state's gas tax. "Electric vehicle drivers are going to be paying over the next four years somewhere around $40 million," said Rep. Jon Koznick, the Republican co-chair of the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. "That does help offset declining gas tax revenues." Rep. Erin Koegel, Koznick's DFL counterpart on the Transportation Committee, said the new fee structure is far from perfect, but she's glad lawmakers included a sliding scale rather than a flat fee of $200, as originally proposed. Lawmakers said that EV drivers will see reduced registration fees in July 2027, when a public charging station tax takes effect. Under that scheme, owners of certain fast chargers will have to pay 5 cents for every kilowatt hour. Minnesota's transportation bill also created a work group to study electricity as a fuel source and recommend a kilowatt hour tax similar to the gas tax. Republicans and DFLers each hold 67 seats in the House, which left little room for disagreement during the budget negotiations. "This is kind of the best that we could get with the circumstances of divided government and all that," Koegel said. Not everyone was happy with the compromise. "We're actually going against the state's electrification goals by doing this," said Carolyn Berninger, who works on public policy issues for Drive Electric Minnesota, a coalition of clean energy advocacy groups. "It's going to make some prospective EV buyers pretty nervous. Electric vehicles already cost more upfront than a comparable gas car." Berninger said she's especially concerned with the timing of the new fees, which come as Congress considers phasing out federal tax incentives for electric vehicle purchases in this year's budget bill. The bill, backed by President Donald Trump, also includes a new $250 annual fee for electric vehicle drivers. That provision is similarly meant to address declining revenue from gas taxes. Jukka Kukkonen, an electrical engineering instructor at the University of St. Thomas and founder of the Minnesota-based EV consulting firm Shift2Electric, said EV drivers were already paying their fair share in taxes with the $75 annual fee. If someone driving a Toyota Prius hybrid, which gets 45 miles to the gallon, paid the gas tax, their average annual cost would be less than $100, he said. How much Minnesotans pay in gas taxes each year on average is a matter of debate. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates that the average gasoline car gets roughly 25 miles per gallon, while trucks and SUVs get about 17 miles per gallon. Minnesotans drove an average of 13,957 miles in 2022, according to the most recent data made public by the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. When put together with Minnesota's gas tax rate, which stands at 31.8 cents per gallon, an average driver in the state pays anywhere from $177 to $246 a year in gas taxes. Others, including DFL Rep. Steve Elkins, have calculated a smaller figure - closer to $132 annually - saying that Minnesotans only drive an average of 11,500 miles per year. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
