Cybercriminals are creative, with many people trying to profit from the epidemic in recent months, ESET said in its latest report. Criminals either extradited themselves to members of health authorities or offered defective item protective equipment for sale. In Hungary, users have been attacked by fake webshops and spam
The latest scams are already linked to the vaccine, and Interpol and Europol have issued an alert due to their widespread use. In their unsolicited messages, criminals have promised to get on the waiting list after entering personal data and bank IDs, or even an immediate vaccine at an additional cost.
Of the five most common scams, ESET cybersecurity experts say it is worth watching – the first is online shopping and auction scam. Fraudsters offer luxury products from famous brands on ridiculously low prices on fake retail websites. Anyone who orders something from such a website usually doesn’t arrive, or if they do, it will definitely be a poor quality fake. It can be worse for someone who provided your credit card information when ordering, as fraudsters can misuse it at any time. Experts therefore say that it is only worth buying from a reliable, well-known webshop that has proven past sales.
The second is the so-called “money mule” scam: the new money laundering technique involves criminals contacting financial institutions. and hide their money with the help of a third party, money mule. In most cases, victims are either seduced by working from home or using online dating platforms. According to experts, if a telecommuting opportunity involves transferring money to an alleged client, no one should accept the job or be suspicious if a dating suitor asks them to send money on someone’s behalf and reject their request.
Another category of scam is the lottery and sweepstakes scams: the victim receives an unsolicited email, phone call or SMS claiming to have won a larger amount or some luxury prize for which he or she can only for a limited time. to apply. To do this, you must first pay a certain amount, such as tax coverage or shipping, possibly other imaginary costs. As the prize draw does not even exist, the victim will never receive the promised prize, even if he pays the requested amount, warn ESET experts.
During so-called tax fraud, criminals send phishing emails on behalf of the local tax authority, through which they try to extract personal and financial information from their victims. The information obtained is used for financial fraud and identity theft. Anyone who receives such an email, which is said to have been sent by the local tax authority, is best checked by contacting the tax authority directly, they said.
The fifth most common scam is investment fraud. One of the best known of these is a kind of pyramid scheme where former investors are paid out of the money of newly arrived investors until the system collapses. This, too, is usually started by fraudsters sending an email outlining a good-looking deal to increase their investment tenfold. The fraudster may impersonate a representative of an existing investment company. According to experts, the possibility and the company behind it should be thoroughly examined.