Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a consumer alert, warning residents of potential scams following the recent nationwide CrowdStrike service outage.
Paxton emphasized that cybersecurity incidents often attract malicious actors seeking to exploit consumers. He advised Texans to take specific steps to minimize their risk of falling victim to scams that could jeopardize personal data and device security.
"During technology outages, it is important to stay vigilant," Paxton stated. He urged individuals to be wary of unsolicited communications, whether by phone calls, visits, texts, emails, or social media messages asking for login credentials. "Be particularly suspicious if someone contacts you saying they are from CrowdStrike," he added.
Paxton recommended immediate action for those who may have revealed passwords during the incident. "Immediately change any passwords you might have revealed. If you used the same password for multiple accounts, make sure to change it for each one," he advised. He also cautioned against reusing compromised passwords in the future.
For those who believe they may have disclosed sensitive information, Paxton advised reporting the incident promptly to relevant personnel within their organization, such as customer support or the IT division.