With only a few days remaining before the license renewal deadline, chiropractic physicians and staff may be watching closely for communications related to licensure and renewal. That makes this an especially important time to remain alert. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is warning licensees about fraudulent emails that impersonate the Department or its employees in an attempt to obtain responses or personal information. Please review the warning below carefully before responding to any unexpected email that appears to come from IDFPR.
If you receive an email that appears suspicious:
Advertisement
- Do not reply, click links, open attachments, or provide personal information.
- Check the sender’s full email address and any contact information in the message.
- If you are unsure whether the email is legitimate, contact IDFPR directly at FPR.Comms@Illinois.gov or 1-800-560-6420 to verify the communication.
- Do not use phone numbers, links, or email addresses provided in the suspicious message to verify it.
- If you determine the email is fraudulent, delete it and alert others in your office who may receive licensing communications.
Here is the message from IDFPR:
Attention Licensees!
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has received reports of a fraudulent email targeting licensees. The message may appear to come from IDFPR or an IDFPR employee and may ask recipients to confirm receipt of documents, respond to the sender, or provide additional information. This is a common phishing tactic designed to elicit a reply and potentially obtain personal identification information.
Below is an example of a fraudulent email that has been reported:
Key indicators this email is a scam:
- Suspicious email address: While the display name may appear official, the actual reply-to address is unusual and unrelated to the State. For example, the scam email begins with an Illinois.gov email address but uses reply to domain like illinois.gov.atlantcwoodcraft.com which is not an official Illinois government domain.
- Impersonation of Department staff: The sender claims to be “Darla K. Jones, Compliance Department” This individual is not affiliated with the Department.
- Unverified contact details: The phone numbers provided in the email do not belong to the Department.
- Unusual request: Asking you to confirm receipt before sharing further details is a red flag for phishing attempts.
Please note:
- The Department only sends emails from official Illinois.gov addresses.
- We will never ask you to confirm receipt of documents in this manner.
If you receive such an email, do not respond and do not click any links. Report suspicious messages to FPR.Comms@Illinois.gov
Thank you for your vigilance and helping protect yourself and other Illinois licensees from fraudulent activity.
Sincerely,
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
