How to Protect Yourself against Covid-19 Scams

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic affected many lives and businesses, as well as bringing the global economy to its knees for many people. Criminals are using people's fear and this time of uncertainty to make money. To fight these scams, individuals need to take serious steps to strengthen their security and to protect their personal information.

The pandemic made people dependent on the internet to keep working, communicating, and making purchases online more than ever. The result of these changing conditions led to more people being vulnerable to cybercrimes and fake news. Forwarded messages and emails promising all manner of things, from cures to the virus to monetary help from companies and governments, impersonating health officials, face mask scams, and so much more; all bets are off with cybercriminals and scammers.

Scams and Malware Operators Utilizing the Pandemic

Social engineering has become more prevalent in the current climate of global fear and chaos, with more people falling to simple tricks due to being more vulnerable. Cybercriminals are using the situation to expand their phishing, malware, and ransomware operations. They are well aware of the panic, so leveraging those fears allows them to make even more money than usual. Malware spam continues to be one of the most widespread sources of infections. It includes specific malware inside email messages that contain links leading to malicious websites or downloading malware.

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Cybercriminals have been spending a lot of effort on creating software and tools that allow them to exploit users, as has been the case ever since malware started being used predominantly in online scams.

Another serious problem faced by users right now is fake news. The internet's presence in nearly every part of life nowadays allows a spread of information at unprecedented speeds. That prevalence is used by threat actors and other parties to spread disinformation and fear on a massive scale. The motivations behind such news may be benign in some cases, as spreading feel-good messages falsely attributed to celebrities, or they may be of a darker nature. In some cases, fake news may be used in deliberate campaigns of disinformation or smearing a company or person, but proving who started these campaigns can be a tough job. Such cases can be seen often when elections and politics are involved.

How Users Can Protect Themselves

There are things people can do to avoid scams, most importantly paying attention to the validity and sources of the information before acting on it or sharing it forward. Prevention is better in such cases since sometimes there is no clear answer for victims of phishing scams. The cybercriminals behind those threats may not always be caught; the money may not be returned.

The immediate measures users may utilize to avoid these issues may include contacting the financial institutions they have their bank accounts under, contacting the relevant authorities, changing their passwords, or looking for help with security researchers and companies fighting malware infections.