Corona and Scams

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. And such is true for hackers and criminals too. Let us explore new scams and attacks!

Industry specific emails: Emails are sent to the manufacturing, transportation, higher education and healthcare industries. Recipients are encouraged to open the email attachments. If the attachment is opened, malware is able to harvest data and create serious problems.

Remote worker email scams: Now-a-days, most of the companies are encouraging employees to work from home. Work from home is blessing for few and vice versa is also true. Hackers get information about work from home employees and send fake company emails to sign into documents, signatures and online platforms.

Fake WHO emails: WHO stands for World Health Organization! Hackers send emails containing attachment having list of precautions to curtail the spread of virus. If the attachment is opened, then personal information is compromised.

Interactive Corona Virus Maps: Spread of virus is depicted on fake clones of John Hopkins interactive map. Such interactive map is an interface for installation of malicious files on local computer machines, which enables hackers to steal credit card details stored in the browser data / cache.

What’s App Hijacking: Recently many people are complaining about obnoxious messaging from What’s App messaging number to the contacts without the consent and approval of the user. Users click on some links knowingly or unknowingly and parallel What’s app platform is created and hackers can blackmail certain user and extort money by issuing threats.

Some Common Precautions:

• Use anti-virus package and update periodically. However, hackers are smarter than such packages and the best solution is to keep eyes wide open while browsing. Protect your social media assets and accounts with two factor authentication.
• Do not save credit card information in your browsers. Do not allow websites (like Airtel etc.) to store your credit card information for further transactions. Do housekeeping of your computer system regularly. Computer system include laptops, tablets, desktops, mobile handsets etc. Keep your data in secured location with multiple encryption.
• Last but not the least – surveillance. It is the business of few criminals and also of those who are afraid of something and for the sake of protecting illegal businesses of their crooked masters and systems. 

Stay alert, stay protected.

~ Avinash Murkute

Galaxy4u Legal Consulting, Pune, Maharashtra, India (www.Galaxy4u.in)