Demi JenkinsAs the coronavirus pandemic is on the rise, the outbreak has stirred up some serious trouble around the world. People are hooked to the COVID 19 key terms and no matter where they are getting the chance to interact with the COVID 19 topic, they aren’t holding themselves back.
This has recently given rise to a new concern surrounding the COVID 19 topic, and the concern is merely related to an increased amount of phishing attacks that have significantly taken its toll in the online world. Many hacking teams around the world are trying new ways to exploit the COVID 19 fear.
How Does the Phishing Attack Works?
So here’s how it works…
Hackers send you an email that contains the name of some of the trustworthy health organizations and a link that leads you to check up on the latest statistics on COVID 19. Once, you accidentally click on the link, the hacker lays a seed of malware in your system which gives the absolute liberty to the hacker to log into your system, explore different files and folders, perform keystrokes and do more.
It’s without a doubt that COVID 19 has taken the world by force and are claiming countless lives. While we can’t keep ourselves safe from the rising global pandemic but we sure can establish some ground to keep ourselves safe from the COVID 19 coronavirus related scams. Here’s what to do to stay safe.
How to Spot a Coronavirus Phishing Email?
They may look or sound like another normal email that you usually encounter on a daily basis.
Cybercriminals might proceed with naming a well-renowned organization such as the CDC (US Center for Disease and Control) falsely claiming that there have been some rapid changes in how coronavirus cases have suddenly spiked in your particular location. To check on the new statistics or go through the cases to avoid safety hazards, you should click on the link below. And once, you do…
Well, you can find yourself falling into their trap and loading up malware into your specific systems.
Beware of such email types.
- CDC Alerts
- Health Advice Emails
- Workplace Policy Emails
What Happens If You Fall For One of These Scams?
Currently, the Internet is full of scams on cures and treatments which self-proclaimed doctors have found for the novel coronavirus. These ads are often represented on the Internet with some form of urgency such as “Get yourself treated before the time runs out” or “Limited offer! Reserve Now.”
Such messages trigger the impulse response within an individual who unknowingly makes a decision.
When you will respond to such ads, there are basically two bad things that can occur at the instance.
The first is falling trap to a hacker’s malware scheme. By clicking on one of these ads, you can open up a pathway for a hacker to place malware within your system allowing the hacker complete access.
The second is that you may end up buying a completely useless product because as of now there’s no particular vaccine released for this new novel virus as of yet. On the contrary, to receive the product, you may have become a victim by sharing your personal information with the scammer.
It can even include details such as your credit card number.
Hence, it is best that you avoid such scams at all cost so you don’t end up becoming a victim.
Tips to Avoid Getting Scammed During the COVID 19 Pandemic
If you want to avoid becoming a victim of such dangerous attacks through phishing emails, here are a few practices that you can adopt in order to safeguard yourself from falling into one of their traps.
- Firstly, do not provide your personal information such as your email address (and especially your banking details) to a particular platform that is non-trusted. If there is a serious concern that your state is facing, then a government body will never inquire about such details (like credit cards).
- If you ever get such kind of email, don’t click on the provided link right away. Hover your mouse on the link for some time and see where the link takes you. See if the link provided is legitimate or not. Some hackers can create exact copies of the link so one way or the other, it’s best if you delete the mail.
- Is there any spelling or grammatical errors in the content? This can be a lead that you are dealing with a non-native agency who is trying to scam you. Contextual and grammatical errors can commonly be found in emails from phishers.
- Are there any informal ways of greetings such as Dear Madam or Dear Sir or Respected Madam or Respected Sir. If there are then there’s a chance that your email is a phishing email.
- Most phishing emails always come with a sense of urgency. If the email in your inbox giving that strong vibe of urgency, then beware that it just might be a phishing email.
Where Can I Find Legitimate Information on Coronavirus?
If you want to find legitimate information on the novel coronavirus, then instead of relying on such fake ads and emails, it is best that you visit the reliable platforms on your own and learn about them.
The Center for Disease & Control should be your first choice. It has all the information on COVID 19. You can easily find answers to all the important questions that are coming to your mind like:
- How the coronavirus spreads
- Symptoms
- Prevention and treatment
- Cases in the U.S.
- Global locations with COVID-19
- Information for communities, schools, and businesses
- Travel
The World Health Organization is the second option. It also has a variety of information on how to safe keep yourself, what to do when you’re planning to travel, or what questions you want to answer.
The National Institute of Health can provide updated information and complete guidance regarding the coronavirus. It has all the important information on the virus from different govt. Organizations.
