Cyber-criminals Lure Victims with Coronavirus Cure Conspiracy Theories

Threat actors exploiting public interest in the ongoing coronavirus outbreak have baited their phishing traps with a new lure—conspiracy theories about unreleased cures.

The new tactic was noted by researchers at Proofpoint, who have been monitoring global malicious activity related to the life-threatening virus in the form of hundreds of thousands of messages. 

Alongside a flurry of phishing scams that hook victims with tall tales of secret remedies, researchers observed the emergence of campaigns that abuse perceived legitimate sources of health information to manipulate users. 

One malicious message, titled "Confidential Cure Solution on Corona virus," presented the sickness as a "deadly virus developed and sprayed by wicked scientists to reduce the population of the world so the government will have control over you."

The message then invited victims to download a document allegedly containing information about a cure for the virus.  

It's not just the subject matter of coronavirus phishing scams that is changing; researchers also detected differences in the malware being used to net victims.

In a report published today, Proofpoint researchers wrote: "In this latest round of campaigns, attackers have expanded the malware used in their Coronavirus attacks to include not just Emotet and the AZORult information stealer, but also the AgentTesla Keylogger and the NanoCore RAT—all of which can steal personal information, including financial information.

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