During this pandemic, COVID-19, the focus of many has shifted to taking care of themselves and loved ones. Many threat actors are taking advantage of the situation. Malicious threats have been noted conducting the following malicious activities:
- Using robocalls to sell fake Coronavirus treatments at home
- Scamming targets to buy fake products
- Texting and emailing targets about checks from the government
- Sending links that lead to malicious and phishing websites
- Sending email claiming to be the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Creating fake charities
Currently, there are no Coronavirus treatments at home and these should be recognized as scams. The robocalls may say “to be removed from the call list press …” this can lead to more robocalls. It is best to hang up the phone and do not interact. The government check details are still being worked on and calls stating that they can get you money are scams. When buying supplies online buy from trusted vendors as many scammers have set up places to sell their non-existent supplies. Also, as always think before you click on links from sources you are not familiar with.
Some of the latest attacks that have been Corona Virus themed included Pakistani state-sponsored threat actors using COVID-19 themed documents to deploy Remote Access Tools (RAT) to the various sectors of the Government of India. Some North Korean groups have been noted as using similar tactics to drop BabyShark Malware on various machines. Various links have been spotted in the wild on message boards and blog posts that link a user to a malicious site where malware is downloaded or a phishing page where the credentials can be handed over.
Attorney General William P. Barr is urging the public to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or by e-mailing the NCDF at disaster@leo.gov. As always you can contact MSA’s InfoSec department at info@msasecurity.net with any questions or concerns.