Phishing scams exploiting coronavirus fears are already about.
It’s common for scammers to take advantage of emergencies — moments when people are scared, desperate, and at their most vulnerable — to propagate scams. The familiarity of the name, and the idea that we need to keep up-to-date with the latest developments, mean that we are more likely to open the email… The fear and panic mean that we’re more likely to make responses without calmly thinking about it first.
Since the beginning of 2020, domain vendors have reported selling over 4,000 domains including the words “corona”, or “covid”. Many of these are genuine, but around 10% are questionable, and that’s enough to be used in a lot of online fraud.
“A global health disaster like this creates a golden opportunity for fraudsters, as there is no population or demographic that is not paying attention. As a result, the potential for impulse clicking is higher than normal,” said Adam Levin, a digital security expert who is chairman of CyberScout, a data security firm.
Ron Culler, senior director of technology and solutions at ADT Cybersecurity, says “When fear is added to any targeted campaign — be it a legitimate or scam campaign — the effectiveness of that campaign is increased.”
The National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre for the UK has reported massive losses already suffered by victims.
Make sure it doesn’t work on you!
Just as you would at any other time, you can protect yourself against scams by:
- Not clicking on any link you’re unsure about.
- Not divulging any personal or financial details to anyone if you weren’t expecting the request.
- If you want information, type into a browser or search engine yourself – don’t respond to emails stating to have the latest
- Don’t donate to any government or health organisation raising funds to fight coronavirus – it won’t be genuine!
If you have any concerns about an email or other potential scam, call us in the datamills office on 0114 287 0510 for advice.