{"id":20567,"date":"2020-04-06T13:40:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T17:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=20567"},"modified":"2022-04-27T14:52:12","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T18:52:12","slug":"coronavirus-remain-on-high-alert-for-scams-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/coronavirus-remain-on-high-alert-for-scams-disinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: Remain On High Alert For Scams & Disinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019ve crossed into the month of April, the count of patients infected with coronavirus continues to grow at a sobering pace, and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. At the same time, people are trying to adjust to the \u201cnew normal\u201d of sustained social distancing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Perfect Storm For Scams and Disinformation<\/b><\/p>\n

The behavioral and psychological changes required to make social distancing work are significant: everything from sharing a home or apartment for an entire day (and with more people, especially if you have kids), to figuring out how to go to the grocery store and shop safely.\u00a0 The combination of emotional, physical, and psychological stressors, combined with significantly increased internet and email \u201cscreen-time\u201d for most people, has created a kind of perfect storm for online scams, con-artists, and disinformation. Another powerful factor driving this storm is curiosity: people are extremely hungry to hear news, and hopeful \/ practical news in particular.\u00a0 Scammers have stepped into make the most of these factors, and as Emilio Simoni, Research Director at the dfndr Lab explains: \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is cybercriminals redoubling their efforts to create more, increasingly sophisticated scams, in order to reap profit from baseless, sensational ads or news \u2014 or through thefts of personal and financial data. The information they offer is almost invariably false, and sometimes the information itself is immediately dangerous to victims who act on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

No Slowing Down: Scammers Are Busier Than Ever!<\/b><\/p>\n

The pace and inventiveness of coronavirus scams appears to be picking up. Emilio Simoni and the dfndr Lab Security Team have gathered the following examples together. Note that these items by no means constitute a complete list of scams in operation.\u00a0 We share these with you so you can get a richer sense of the variety of these scams, and the methods they employ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A multilingual scam using the <\/span>Nike<\/b> brand name was discovered by the dfndr Lab Security Team (see image above). The scammers used geolocation to adapt the language used to the victims: it showed messages in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, depending on the visitor\u2019s locale. Some generic questions were used to draw people in, and after they were drawn in they were automatically redirected to another domain, full of ads. It was through impressions of these ads that the cybercriminals reaped their profits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Emilio also notes that \u201cCyberattacks are becoming more and more sophisticated. One of the most popular scams leveraging the pandemic is the one that <\/span>falsely promoted a free 1-year subscription for Netflix. <\/b>The cybercriminals study how official companies and websites offer promotions and sales, then mimic their approach, which can help to create a extremely convincing page.\u201d You can see the example Emilio cites, immediately above.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dfndr Lab Security Team has also discovered <\/span>cyberattacks connected to fake profiles on Facebook, also known as bots.<\/b> These bots are especially prevalent in Facebook Private Groups. Of 3 bots discovered and analyzed by the dfndr Lab, one had engaged more than 10k interactions. These bots used intelligent techniques to persuade the victims, \u201ctalking\u201d through pre-recorded messages that request personal information. The most common themes used by these bots to attract new victims were 1) registration to receive the government social security benefits,\u00a0 and 2) offering a map to check the coronavirus spread around the world. The dfndr Lab also notes that many scams in the US are being disseminated through Facebook Messenger. So be careful!<\/span><\/p>\n

Paypal phishing attacks have also grown exponentially<\/b> since the beginning of the pandemic. Dfndr lab stipulates that during the month of March, scam emails fraudulently claiming to be from PayPal, and seeking private information, reached over 1.4k users in the US alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With people all over the world sheltering in place,<\/b> virtual meeting providers<\/span> Zoom, <\/b>has been in high demand. The dfndr Lab detected 4 fake domains<\/span> using their name. The URLs were hiding trojans that could act in different ways: seeming to install the Zoom app, but redirecting victims to another website full of ads, and rapidly consuming your phone battery.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Can You Do?<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a story that will continue to move fast, so the examples above will be joined by new and different examples by time you read this. As Emilio Simoni pointed out, hackers all over the world are in HIGH PRODUCTION mode during this crisis. They\u2019re going to keep inventing new and more devious ways to get information, and steal from you.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You need to protect yourself. So make sure you\u2019re using a security solution that\u2019s built to alert you immediately when you access a scam site, or interact with a known digital virus \u201ccarrier.\u201d dfndr Security has an excellent Anti-Hacking feature you can activate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you upgrade to the <\/span>dfndr Pro<\/b><\/a> version, you\u2019ll get the added benefit of a <\/span>Safe App Installer<\/b> (which warns you if an app you\u2019re about to install may be a vector for malware). It also offers <\/span>Identity Theft Protection<\/b> to keep your email safe as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider Going Pro<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the best ways to protect yourself right now is to upgrade your dfndr app (if you haven\u2019t already) to dfndr Pro<\/a>.\u00a0 Pro gives you these added protections:<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlimited Identity Theft Reports: <\/b>You can check if any of your account credentials have been leaked on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anti-theft protection: <\/b>In case of theft or loss, you can lock down your device remotely, find the phone on a map; or, activate a loud alarm to find it nearby. You can also get a picture of the thief, and wipe the phone of your personal data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Safe App Installer:<\/b> You\u2019ll know if an app has previously had data breaches before installing.<\/span><\/p>\n

App Privacy Scan:<\/b> You can locate on a map where your app data is going and how it might be used by third-parties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ads free version: Totally ad-free<\/span><\/p>\n

Use this link<\/a> to learn more about dfndr Pro<\/a>, and consider upgrading.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Everyday Digital Hygiene Matters Now Too\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Just as avoiding coronavirus requires that you keep your hands clean (and keep them away from you face!) \u2014 digital hygiene is achieved through simple steps as well. Now\u2019s a time to make doubly sure that you:<\/span><\/p>\n