The world has changed in unprecedented ways in the last several weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. While it has brought out the best in humanity in many ways, as with any crisis it can also attract the worst in some. Cybercriminals use people’s fear and need for information in phishing attacks to steal sensitive information or spread malware for profit.

Most IT companies are doing everything to help their customers. As the study shows, 90% of all cyber-attacks are from emails. These companies do everything to block malicious emails from reaching their customers. 

Bad people are attempting to capitalize on the OCVID-19 CRISIS, one should be vigilant to take steps to protect themselves.

Make sure your devices have the latest security updates installed and anti-virus or anti-malware service. 

Some of the tell-tale signs that will help you recognize phishing attempts are as follows.

• Spelling and bad grammar. Cybercriminals are not known for their grammar and spelling. Professional companies or organizations usually have an editorial staff to ensure customers get high-quality, professional content. If an email message is fraught with errors, it is likely to be a scam.
• Suspicious links. If you suspect that an email message is a scam, do not click on any links. One method of testing the legitimacy of a link is to rest your mouse—but not click—over the link to see if the address matches what was typed in the message. In the following example, resting the mouse on the link reveals the real web address in the box with the yellow background. Note that the string of IP address numbers looks nothing like the company’s web address.
• Suspicious attachments. If you receive an email with an attachment from someone you don’t know, or an email from someone you do know but with an attachment you weren’t expecting, it may be a phishing attempt, so we recommend you do not open any attachments until you have verified their authenticity. Attackers use multiple techniques to try and trick recipients into trusting that an attached file is legitimate.
  • Do not trust the icon of the attachment.
  • Be wary of multiple file extensions, such as “pdf.exe” or “rar.exe” or “txt.hta”.
  • If in doubt, contact the person who sent you the message and ask them to confirm that the email and attachment are legitimate.
• Threats. These types of emails cause a sense of panic or pressure to get you to respond quickly. For example, it may include a statement like “You must respond by the end of the day.” Or saying that you might face financial penalties if you don’t respond.
• Spoofing. Spoofing emails appear to be connected to legitimate websites or companies but take you to phony scam sites or display legitimate-looking pop-up windows.
• Altered web addresses. A form of spoofing where web addresses that closely resemble the names of well-known companies, but are slightly altered; for example, “www.micorsoft.com” or “www.mircosoft.com”.
• The incorrect salutation of your name.
• Mismatches. The link text and the URL are different from one another; or the sender’s name, signature, and URL are different.

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