Beware of Teleconferencing Hijacking

If you have begun or increased your use of Teleconferencing/Telehealth to provide health care, be aware of cyber-attacks.  The FBI issued a notice on 3/30/2020, which warned that bad actors have been hijacking Zoom and other teleconference platforms, disrupting them with pornographic or hate images and language.

The following steps can help to secure your teleconferences:

  • Do not make meetings public.  In Zoom, there are two options to make a meeting private: require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests.  Other platforms also offer security settings such as meeting passwords and waiting rooms.

If you were a victim of a teleconference hijacking, or any cyber-crime for that matter, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at Additionally, if you receive a specific threat during a teleconference, please report it to us at or call the FBI Boston Division at (857) 386-2000.