On Saturday, the FBI said it swiftly spotted the spam emails and shut down the system that was being used to send false emails warning of a potential threat. It also urged people to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities.

According to the FBI, hackers sent emails from what appeared to be an official FBI address.

The emails served as a warning to recipients about a potential cyberattack. It's unclear whether the emails were sent to government employees, the general public, or both.
Spamhaus Project, a threat-tracking organization, shared a snapshot of the phony email that was delivered.

The fake warning messages were also signed off by the US Department of Homeland Security, whereas the FBI is part of the US Department of Justice.

 

 

We have been made aware of "scary" emails sent in the last few hours that purport to come from the FBI/DHS. While the emails are indeed being sent from infrastructure that is owned by the FBI/DHS (the LEEP portal), our research shows that these emails *are* fake.

— Spamhaus (@spamhaus) November 13, 2021