Since the COVID-19 spread all around the world it gave enthusiasm to many of anonymous storywriters to publicise strange facts about the virus. Sources on several websites, blogs and social networks described the virus like in the myths ‘as the dragon blowing fire’. This somehow caused serious panic in communities and for vulnerable ones having heart attacks and other serious illness.
Moreover, coronavirus became a tool for internet hoax and hackers who try to hunt people for their easiest earnings. In the recent US report COVID-19 phishing alert was issued to raise awareness for criminals operating online. Those criminals are opportunists, and as seen in the past, any major news event can become an opportunity for groups or individuals with malicious intentions. The Coronavirus is no different. In fact, the Coronavirus is a prime opportunity for enterprising criminals because it plays on one of the basic human conditions…fear. Fear can cause normally scrupulous individuals to let their guard down and fall victim to social engineering scams, phishing scams, non-delivery scams, and auction fraud scams.
Nowadays, governments should proactively take steps to alert the public about the types of email scams and fake news associated with the Coronavirus.
According to the Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC), the subsequent email scams are called “Phishing,” which is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to entice individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. Phishing scams have become ubiquitous through email communication and ecommerce. Cyber criminals are exploiting the Coronavirus through the wide distribution of mass emails posing as legitimate medical and or health organizations. In one particular instance, victims have received an email purporting to be from a medical/health organization that included attachments supposedly containing pertinent information regarding the Coronavirus. This lead to either unsuspecting victims opening the attachment causing malware to infect their system, or prompting the victim to enter their email login credentials to access the information resulting in harvested login credentials. This type of incident enables further occurrences of cyber enabled financial crimes such as Business Email Compromise (BEC), PII theft, ransomware and account takeovers.
During the quarantine regime, the online shoppers have to take extra precaution when ordering goods from various commercial websites. Sometimes we may become disappointed because of empty boxes in front of our flats or non-deliveries after spending from our credit or pension cards. Today those criminals are trying to occupy such websites, where many of us could anytime become victim for them.
Another side effect of the Coronavirus is increased teleworking, which furthers the reliance on email for communication adding yet another multiplier to these email fraud schemes. According to report, more of these incidents are expected, and increased vigilance regarding email communication is highly encouraged.
Further to what reports say of one of the emerging fraud schemes exploiting the Coronavirus is using social engineering tactics through legitimate social media websites seeking donations for charitable causes related to the virus. Criminals in this manner try to exploit the charitable spirit of individuals, seeking donations to fraudulent causes surrounding the Coronavirus. Increased caution should be exercised when donating to charitable organizations as well.
So at the end, it is strongly recommended to avoid opening attachments and clicking on links within emails from senders that we don’t recognize as well as choosing only reliable websites for our online orders during quarantine period.
