The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency today shared tips on how to defend against scammers who use the coronavirus health crisis as bait to push their scams over the Internet.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned individuals across the U.S. to remain vigilant for cyber scams related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to take a number of precautions to make sure that they won't be the victims of cybercriminals.
Defense measures against Coronavirus cyber scams
"Cyber actors may send emails with malicious attachments or links to fraudulent websites to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or donating to fraudulent charities or causes," CISA said.
"Exercise caution in handling any email with a COVID-19-related subject line, attachment, or hyperlink, and be wary of social media pleas, texts, or calls related to COVID-19."
Individuals are encouraged by the cybersecurity agency to:
Coronavirus-themed phishing, scams, and malware
This warning comes after previous ones issued last month by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about ongoing Coronavirus-themed phishing attacks and scam campaigns.
COVID-19 is a highly popular phishing bait for targeting individuals from the United States and the United Kingdom as researchers at IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence, shares defend against coronavirus cyber scams
