NJOHSP 2023 Sovereign Citizen Extremists Snapshot; NJCCIC Cautions Against Bank Impersonation Scams; Swiss Legislators Seek to Ban Racist Symbols

As a supplement to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness’ 2023 Threat Assessment, agency analysts compiled a snapshot outlining the 2022 nationwide activities of sovereign citizen extremists and the threat they pose to New Jersey. Sovereign citizen extremists, who view federal, State and local governments as illegitimate in justifying their violence and other criminal activity, posed a moderate threat to New Jersey in 2023. They assert they are not subject to law enforcement questioning or arrest or required to comply with summonses, official license obligations or payment mandates for taxes and fines. Their belief in government and financial conspiracy theories leads them to harass public officials, reject judicial powers and disregard law enforcement authority. Operating individually or in small groups, sovereign citizen extremists attempt to illegally acquire private property, target government officials with threats of false legal and financial action and resist police officers with physical violence during routine traffic stops. In New Jersey, they have relied on property occupation scams and “paper terrorism,” such as filing fraudulent liens against public officials, or self-identifying in court paperwork. Although a May 2016 New Jersey law increased penalties for filing fraudulent liens as retaliation against public officials, these extremists adopted new methods to circumvent the legislation. Further details are available in NJOHSP's sovereign citizen extremists snapshot.

Threat actors continue to impersonate trusted entities using emails, phone calls and SMS text messages to convince their targets to divulge information or transfer funds. Threat actors behind bank impersonation scams typically seek personal information, account numbers, passwords and PINs to obtain access to bank accounts, as wells as the victim's personal and financial information. Despite banks using Early Warning Services to help fight bank fraud, bank impersonation scams are increasing. The New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell recently observed multiple emails sent to New Jersey State employees attempting to lure potential victims with urgent bank account notifications to capture login credentials. In the example pictured, the email used stolen Bank of America branding to appear legitimate. However, the display name is spoofed with “Bank of America Alert,” while the sender’s email address, iolevron5886[@]live[.]com, is from a Microsoft Live.com account and not from a Bank of America domain. The NJCCIC highly advises users to refrain from responding to unsolicited communications. If a correspondence contains requests for account changes or is otherwise suspicious, contact the bank directly before providing sensitive information or funds. Additionally, check accounts regularly and enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts. Report suspicious activity to the respective bank immediately, along with the FTC, FBI’s IC3 and the NJCCIC. Visit NJCCIC’s website for more information regarding bank impersonation scams.

On Dec. 20, Switzerland’s Senate passed legislation aimed at a nationwide ban of racist symbols that incite hatred and violence. The upper house voted 23-16, with three abstentions, to criminalize racist symbols that excuse violent or extremist behavior. The legislation ban would include prohibitions on speech, gestures and the display of flags that incite hatred, as well as the public wearing of symbols reminiscent of Nazi tyranny in Europe. The measure now moves to the lower chamber, the National Council, for a vote and, if approved, will put the country on track to join several of its European neighbors that have similar bans against incitement to hatred. Swiss lawmakers said they still need to flesh out the length to which the legislation would impact perpetrators but agreed that judges should retain some level of oversight in adjudicating such cases. “There’s no place for symbols that make apologies for violence in our society,” said Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, who heads the Federal Justice and Police Department. The measure, which has been in the works for months, has gained support following an increase in antisemitic incidents in Europe, which some suggest are related to Israel’s military response to HAMAS’ deadly Oct. 7 attack. Legislators rejected a proposal earlier this year that focused solely on the banning of Nazi symbols.