Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) has been an outspoken supporter of sanctions against Russia. That could be why she has become the latest in an impersonation attack.
The Daily Beast reported Monday that Shaheen was contacted by a staffer last November by someone saying they worked for the foreign ministry of Latvia and wanted to set up a call between the two. The purpose was to discuss “prolongation of anti-Russian sanctions” and “general security with Kaspersky laboratory case," the email said.
The staffer, who called himself Arturs Vaiders, proposed a date and time for the call, but when Shaheen's staff contacted the Latvian embassy, they learned Vaiders name was fake.
The person continued to email for information and even left a voicemail with the office.
“Hi again, this is Arturs Vaiders. I work for the minister of foreign affairs and I left you a message about trying to do a call with the senator and the minister. Could you respond on our email, please? Thank you,” the voice says in the message. After a pause, the person also said, “We are calling from Latvia.”
Shaheen spokesperson Ryan Nickel explained that they frequently receive hoax emails and phishing attempts.
Shaheen was a key lawmaker who wrote the law that made the U.S. government purge software made by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, which is headquartered in Moscow. It has resulted in Shaheen being included on a "blacklist" to the Russian government. She was barred from traveling with other lawmakers to Russia in 2017.
It was also revealed that Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was targeted by Russian hackers and bots to try and beat her in November.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (C-SPAN)
