Please be Watchful for COVID-19 Scams

A tip from Joseph Cioffi, licensed Health Insurance Agent

Here is an excerpt from an email I received from one of companies I represent.“Regrettably, there are groups of people who seek to use these situations for their own personal gains.  We’ll call them “bad actors”.  We’ve seen these bad actors increase their efforts and alter their activities to take advantage of COVID-19.  To combat these bad actors, we wanted to share some helpful tips, which apply to your work accounts and personal accounts.

We are already seeing the bad actors preying on the fear around COVID-19.  We’ve seen all sorts of scams from phishing campaigns, malicious websites, malicious mobile applications, and even cyber-attacks against Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to spread misinformation.

Whether at work or at home, below are some examples of the types of scams you should be on the lookout for:

1. Emails that appear to be from organizations such as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), or the WHO (World Health Organization). The scammers have crafted emails that appear to come from these sources, but they actually contain malicious phishing links or dangerous attachments.
2. Emails that ask for charity donations for studies, doctors, or victims that have been affected by the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Scammers often create fake charity emails after global phenomenon occur, like natural disasters, or health scares like the COVID-19.
3. Emails that claim to have a “new” or “updated” list of cases of Coronavirus in your area. These emails could contain dangerous links and information designed to scare you into clicking on the link.
4. Websites that appear to be providing legitimate information on COVID-19, but are malicious in nature.  They typically appear as links in email, but may also appear in search results.  Many of the websites leverage real data from sources such as Johns Hopkins, but perform malicious activities.
5. Mobile applications which claim to track COVID-19, using information from Johns Hopkins, have been discovered to contain malicious code.  These are being removed from the various mobile application stores, but often after they’ve already been installed by thousands.

Keep in mind, these are only a few examples and these bad actors are constantly coming up with new ways to exploit real world events.  You are the uncontested first and best line of defense!  Be vigilant in protecting and safeguarding your personal and work accounts.

What Can I Do?

Remain cautious! And always remember the following to protect yourself from scams like this:

• Never click on links or download attachments from an email that you weren’t expecting.
• If you receive a suspicious email that appears to come from an official organization such as the WHO or CDC, report the email to the official organization through their website and delete it.
• If you want to make a charity donation, go to the charity website of your choice to submit your payment. Type the charity’s web address in your browser instead of clicking on any links in emails, or other messages.
• If you are looking for information on COVID-19, only go to trusted resources following trusted links.

Only install mobile applications from the official stores (Apple or Play).  Only install applications from trusted and reputable developers.