An area law-enforcement agency is alerting the public about potential scams.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department has a release from the Associated Press that says as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise, online scammers are using email phishing schemes in an attempt to profit on people’s confusion and fear surrounding the virus.
Security researchers have identified multiple phishing scams in which attackers pose as authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization in emails, offering information about the virus in order to trick victims into downloading malicious software or handing over their login credentials.
While the coronavirus outbreak constitutes a world health crisis, experts have warned against unnecessary panic, arguing that misinformation is causing an overblown response to the disease.
A scam identified by security firm Trustwave Holdings spreads false claims that the virus has spread to victims’ home cities, then prompts users to enter their email passwords in order to read more information. Another scam teases similar information, then uses malicious links to direct victims to a fake Microsoft Outlook portal that harvests credentials.
Researchers from Sophos also identified a scam that directs people to a facsimile of the World Health Organization website that asks users for their email password in order to see “safety measures” about COVID-19.
The World Health Organization released an advisory last month urging people to stay on the lookout for phishing scams related to coronavirus.
Here’s how the scams work, and the steps the WHO recommends to avoid falling for them.
Check the sender’s email domain and see if it matches the website of the organization they say they work for. Then, check the URLs included in the email.