How to protect against Coronavirus Scams?

Before moving ahead with Coronavirus Scams protection, the first thing you have to know is Coronavirus Scams. A typical Coronavirus scam involves a phishing email that recommends that it is from a government agency, like the FTC or even the CDC, trying to get connected with you. Its goal is to either get information about you or to steal or hack your money. In this guide, we will discuss some facts to stay protected against Coronavirus Scams but before that, let’s discuss the working procedure of these scams.

Coronavirus scams work such many other email-based scams just by tapping into your fears so that you react without thinking. You get an email supposedly from an important government source, and you feel obliged to reply or do whatever it states to do. Some of the messages are easy to spot, thanks to poor usage of the grammar or spelling but others can seem extremely professional and as if they are actually from the source they say they are. Almost all Coronavirus phishing emails will use language that will make you worry about what could happen if you do not do what the emails tell you to do.

Protection against Coronavirus Phishing Campaigns:

So, the question arises, how do you spot coronavirus phishing mails & protect yourself? The first thing to remember is that the objective of these emails is the same as any other phishing email for making you click on a fixed link or open an email attachment.

1. Check the email address

Hackers are good at creating fake email addresses that closely resemble trustworthy ones. For instance, email addresses with the website domain such as “@cdc-giv.org” or “@who-pc.com.” Firstly, decide if these domains are trustworthy and operational before acting upon the email.

2. Do not click on the Suspicious Links

Cybercriminals contain genuine-looking links in the phishing email for making people click on them. Although, once the user clicks on them, they are redirected to a different target URL of a phishing site. Before clicking on any such links, locate your mouse over the link and view the URL link where it would lead.

3. Beware of Phishing SMS

Emails aren’t the sole medium through that hackers targets users for phishing. Cybercriminals could also send an SMS with suspicious links. Once you click on the link you are redirected to a website that could hack your financial information. These cases are far sneakier as the mobile phones hardly have the security ensures we have on your work computers or laptops.

4. Beware of Social Media posts

Cybercriminals know that the people are on the lookout for virus-related information on social media, and hence, social media is a fertile ground for these activities.

5. Don’t Submit any Personal Information

As already discussed, phishing emails aim to get your financial or personal information and as a rule, don’t submit any confidential information as a response to these emails. Banks or any trustworthy agencies do not ask for any such data or any login credentials. Apart from this, delete any emails that ask for personal the detail on a quick or urgent basis.

IMPORTANT LINKS: How to protect against Coronavirus Scams?

Have a look at the protection of Mobile Phones

iPhone Users

On an iPhone, open the message in the Messages app and then tap on the profile photo appears at the top and after that tap on the Info option. On the next screen, tap on the phone number that is followed by Block this Caller that appears at the bottom of the next screen. Following those steps will block the number from both calling and messaging you.

Android Users

As is usually the case with the Android phones, the procedure to block a number will vary depending on who makes your phone and which message app you are using. If you are using Google’s Messages app and start by opening the spam message and after that, tapping on the menu button appears in the top-right corner and choose Details from the list of options.

On the following screen, just select Block and Report spam that is followed by OK. The Messages app sends the number and the 10 previous messages from it to Google for analysis for enhancing future spam detection. Your replies to the number aren’t sent to Google. Just block the number and unmark the box that appears just next to ‘Report spam’ before tapping on Ok.

Follow the above-given tips to stay protected against Coronavirus Scams. These tips are very easy to follow and you should do this right now.

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