A joint alert advisory was published on April 8, 2020, by the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre and United States’ Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, detailing information regarding cybercriminals actively targeting individuals, small and medium businesses, and large organizations with malicious ransomware and malware scams, as an increasing number of cybercriminals are exploiting the COVID 19 outbreak for their own personal gain.
Cybercriminals are using the high demand for any and all news related to COVID 19 as an opportunity to lure victims into opening malicious attachments, and are sending emails that appear to be legitimate to prey on real-world emotions and concerns to try and trick you into clicking a link or to provide personal information. For example, there have been scam emails detected that claim to have a cure for the virus, offer a financial reward, attempt to sell you protective gear and/or testing kits, or encourage you to donate.
Cybercriminals are likely to continue to exploit the COVID 19 pandemic over the next coming weeks and months. As these cybercriminals continuously adjust their tactics to take advantage of new updates and situations surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic, individuals and organizations should remain vigilant, avoid emails and advertisements that create a sense of urgency to “act now” and/or request your personal information, as well as avoid opening unknown attachments/links sent in emails (even if the email appears to come from someone you know).
If you have any questions or require further assistance to help you navigate through these difficult times, please feel free to give us a call. We are all in this together.
Vernon Litigation Group represents businesses & individuals throughout the United States who have financial disputes, including cyber litigation, securities litigation & arbitration, business & commercial litigation, financial advisors & employment disputes and FINRA arbitration. For more information contact, bsandovalbanker@vernonlitigation.com or call (239) 319-4434.