The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about a phishing email operation that mentions Sheriff Tina Nieto, the office said.

People are advised not to click on any links or provide any personal information on emails that seem to come from Nieto through a county email address with the subject line “You’ve a confidential document securely delivered by NietoTM@countyofmonterey.gov,” the Sheriff’s Office said.  

The Sheriff’s Office said it detected the activity on Tuesday morning just before 11 a.m.  

“The emails contain a link and ask for email passwords,” said the Sheriff’s Office. “This was not an authentic email from Sheriff Tina Nieto and appears to have been designed to harvest your account credentials.” 

The Sheriff’s Office said that several thousand people were sent the email.  

Anyone who received the email at work and clicked the link should please contact their IT team and immediately conduct a formal change of their password. Anyone who clicked the link on their personal email should also change their password.  

“Thanks to safety measures that are in place, the Monterey County Sheriff’s ISU and Monterey County ITD department teams were able to swiftly shut down the ongoing delivery of emails to protect the integrity of our infrastructure and safeguard sensitive data and records,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “We are working diligently to fix this situation and conduct a thorough investigation.” 

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.