The current climate of our country is a perfect environment for Coronavirus phishing scams. People are stressed, they’re scared, and they want answers to their questions about COVID-19. Scammers know this and they will use this vulnerability to their advantage.
Additionally, this pandemic has decentralized many employees who are now working remotely and more independently than before. They are using home WIFI and handling more tasks on their own, which increases the likelihood of unintentional user error.
You’re are very likely to see a phishing scam come through your inbox at some point and we want to make sure you and your employees know how to identify these emails so that your company continues to keep its business information secure.
What is a Phishing Scam?
Simply put, a phishing scam is an attempt to trick someone into providing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. This is done by disguising an email as trustworthy either from a known company, coworker, or employer.
Coronavirus Phishing Emails
There are several ways someone can use Coronavirus to target you for information that you want to be on the lookout for including:
To see what some of these emails would actually look like in your inbox, check out this detailed article by Norton.
Additional Coronavirus Scams
Unfortunately, phishing emails are not the only scams taking advantage of Coronavirus. There are several others you should be aware could affect your business.
Invoicing Scam
A recent example we experienced was a client who received new toner with an invoice from someone other than us. The client recognized they had not recently ordered toner and the invoice was from a company other than CCP They caught the mistake, did not pay the invoice, and returned the unopened toner to the address it came from.
Supply Scam
Depending on the products your business purchases on a regular basis, you may be running into trouble finding these items in stock. As frustrating as that it, never buy from a new seller unless you have fully vetted them to be a trusted product source. And, never purchase anything through a website that is not secure.
Robocalls
We have all received robocalls, but these robocalls target small businesses and their concerns about COVID-19. They will use language such as “small businesses who have been affected by COVID-19…” and that’s an accurate statement for most of us. Hang up on unidentified numbers or just don’t answer them.
Tips to Avoid Becoming a Victim of a Scam
Knowing what types of phishing emails are circulating is helpful, but hackers adapt their methods quickly. It’s imperative you know how to handle incoming emails even if they don’t look like the ones mentioned above. We recommend the following:
Mistakes happen, if you realize you have clicked a compromised link or downloaded a potential virus. Contact your IT Team immediately.
Trusted Coronavirus Sources
If you’re looking for reliable information on COVID-19, we recommend sticking with trusted sources. That would be your local and state government sites as well as the CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), and the National Institute of Health (NIH).
If you believe your business has been the victim of a phishing scam or you would like to increase your data security, CCP IT ALL SECURE Can Help! We specialize in IT Managed Services including disaster recovery.
Source: https://www.bradenonline.com/blog/avoid-coronavirus-phishing-scams/