Main Ocala library victim of phone ‘spoofing’
The Marion County Public Library Headquarters is at 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]
The Marion County Public Headquarters-Ocala main phone line was recently spoofed by parties possibly seeking personal data from callers.
Library Community Liaison Karen Jensen stated in an email that the telephone issue caused a number of complaints.
“Around Sept. 30, the Headquarters-Ocala Public Library started receiving calls from frustrated citizens that they had received calls from our library main number, 352-671-8551,” Jensen wrote.
“A few business owners even stopped by in person to make this complaint. According to the information we received, sometimes no one was on the other end of the call. Some reported that when a person was on the other end of the call that he/she just sounded ‘off’ and asked for personal information,” Jensen stated.
Norton computer protection services at usnorton.com describes spoofing as “a deceptive practice where someone falsifies information such as an email sender address or phone number to appear as a trusted entity.”
“It’s often used by cybercriminals in scams, phishing or cyberattacks to steal data or money, or gain unauthorized access to systems. You can think of spoofing as a short-term form of identity theft,” the website states.
Although officials did not cite “phishing” in the recent library phone issue, the seeking of private information for illegal purposes can be tied to telephone use.
According to phishing.org, “phishing is a cybercrime in which target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.”
Jensen said the apparent spoofing was posted on Facebook. She indicated in her email that the complaints have since ceased.
For information about the Marion County Public Library System, go to library.marionfl.org
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