Washington State agencies have been notified of fake SecureAccess Washington (SAW) ads on Internet search engines. Users of SAW should be on the lookout for “sponsored ads” that pretend to be government links to SAW.
If users click on the sponsored ad, it takes them to a page what looks like a legitimate government website asking for their username and password. If those credentials are provided, bad actors can then potentially access user accounts at state agencies.
How Can You Recognize That a SAW Link is Fake?
The fake sponsored ads on search engines have links such as “SecureAccess – Washington” and “SecureAccess Washington – login”. Clicking on the ad takes users to a page that looks like a legitimate government website asking for their username and password.
An indication that the links are malicious websites is they do not have a .gov address but instead have URLs such as “wasecuracces.com” or “washingtonst.net.”
To avoid falling victim, be skeptical of all links on the internet even if they look official. When going to a government agency website, make sure it has a .gov address. The only correct SAW address is https://secureaccess.wa.gov.
Actions you can take to secure your SAW account.
- Change your email account password. Be sure each password you use is different and strong.
- Ensure all devices, email addresses and phone numbers in your SAW account are yours. Remove any unknown devices, email addresses or phone numbers.
- Reset your SAW password if you have not done so already.
- Do not use a search engine to get to the SAW login page.