As the whole world is currently affected with corona virus, there are fraudsters out there who are trying to make the most of it using scams involving covid-19 related matters. More than 4 million patients have been reported to be affected by the newly global pandemic Covid-19; scammers are trying to steal your information & money. You need to watch closely for these scams & stay safe in these tough times. Here we will inform you how to watch for these scams & stay safe during these desperate times.
What are the Facts?
It might be hard for you to believe! But these facts are damn true.
- 18 million phishing emails are being sent daily related to covid-19! YES 18 MILLION! As per Google, “Every day, Gmail blocks more than 100 million phishing emails. During the last week, we saw 18 million daily malware and phishing emails related to Covid-19. This is in addition to more than 240 million COVID-related daily spam messages” Now you can guess how much desperate these guys are and how much you need to be careful! Google, Microsoft & others are doing their best to identify & block these scams but even if they do, the efforts are useless if you do not understand the scams & risks and be fooled by these scammers. You need to know what this is & what you should do to avoid any damage.
- The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it took down more than 2,000 online corona virus scams last month. Well scammers have made a lot of such fake online stores during corona virus time & they are doing best to steal money from people. You need to be aware.
- In last three weeks, 2,449 Zoom-related domains have been registered; and it has been determined that 32 of those domains are malicious and 320 are “suspicious.” Hackers are sending emails that look like official email from Microsoft Teams, but a button in the email to “open” are malicious URL that downloads malware to the your computer.
- According to checkpoint, “In two weeks, more than 30,103 new corona virus-related domains were registered, of which 0.4% (131) were malicious and 9% (2,777) were suspicious. This means over 51,000 of corona virus-related domains in total have been registered since January 2020”.
Similarly, malicious WhatsApp messages containing malicious links are widely common. Just ignore them.
What are the scams going on?
Well, there are lots of different scams going on, but nevertheless all scams share some common features which we’ll explain here. The most common scams going on curing corona virus time are:
- Phishing attack via whatsapp, where they offer you free Netflix subscription. Remember that there is nothing like free subscription through whatsapp! All those links with bold letters & bold hyperlinks are not only fake but malicious as well. They are trying to steal your personal information which they will use to either threaten you via email or may use for stealing your money from your credit card or bank account depending on what they are targeting & getting via this scam. DO NOT CLICK ON THESE LINKS! Instead, delete them & report as scam
- Emails containing suspicious links from fake representatives of World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations or any other global health related organizations on subjects like Covid-19 awareness or guidance etc. are also spreading. Well, do not open them, instead report them as scam.
- Fake offers for emergency money for essentials where they would try to tell you that they want to help the needy people. These emails would ask you to click on a link or send email to certain address. Remember that these are all totally fake & scams.
- Any email containing offers for fake medical products on cheap rates like masks, vaccines & testing kits or any such items linked with corona virus. These are all fake, NEVER EVER SHARE YOUR CREDIT CARD details on such links.
- Random Facebook groups offering supposed home cures for COVID-19, long Twitter threads from self-appointed health experts and cleverly designed websites. Please do not believe these stupid things until they come from valid source.
Furthermore, there would be more & more. You need to be aware. Any email or link containing anything similar to these scams are all fake. Just be careful, watch out for them & stay safe.
What to do to stay Safe?
- You should avoid all online offers for coronavirus-related vaccines or cures; they aren’t legitimate.
- Don’t click on links or download files from unexpected emails, even if the email address looks like a company or person you recognize. Ditto for text messages and unfamiliar websites.
- Don’t share personal information such as your national identity number, bank account and credit card numbers in response to an unsolicited call, text or email.
- Don’t respond to fundraising calls or emails seeking money for corona virus victims or disease research, especially if they pressure you to act fast and request payment by prepaid debit cards or gift cards.
- Ignore phone calls or emails from strangers urging you to invest in a hot new corona virus stock.
- Don’t respond to texts, emails or calls about checks from the government.
