TRS is aware of “phishing” attempts from non-TRS email accounts and wants members to be suspicious of any email purporting to be from TRS that is not from an email ending in trs.ky.gov or from an authorized TRS service provider.

“Phishing” occurs when a scammer sends an email or text, sometimes falsely using the name of a trusted person or organization, trying to get you to reply or click a link. If you click it, the scammer, for example, sends viruses and other malware into your computer. Scammers design these messages to appear to be real and often suggest the message is urgent and requires action now or something bad will happen. They sometimes paste official logos into the email. They also will type one address in the body an email with the link going to another address.

TRS does not use email or text to request any payment or your confidential information to be provided in a response to that email or text.

To avoid being caught by “phishing” you can:

• By phone or by creating a new email message, contact the person or organization who supposedly sent you the email without replying or forwarding to the suspicious email.
• Look to see that an email address ends in trs.ky.gov. or is from an authorized TRS service provider.
• Find out more about the link by scrolling over it without tapping it.
• Report the email as spam.
• If it’s a text, block the phone number.
• Think twice about responding to emails or texts demanding “immediate action.”

(Posted August 2020)