The COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a godsend for online fraudsters, adding to their already existing bag of tricks.
Everything from the near-universal work-from-home to soaring online transactions seems to have aligned in favour of these fraudsters.
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team had issued an alert against COVID-19-related phishing attacks as recently as June 19.
Forging mail IDs in the name of the boss and sending emails to colleagues have emerged as a favoured ploy.
“It wasn’t restricted to companies, but even a mail was forged in the name of the Chief Minister to his Cabinet colleague,” said Manoj Abraham, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and nodal officer for the Kerala Police Cyberdome.
Fake pleas for donations
Phishing by exploiting the proliferating charity and donations during the pandemic is another common trap. For instance, pleas for donations are circulated via social media and emails, even in the name of the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, though the donations so elicited go straight into the fraudsters’ personal accounts.
Ransomware attack taking over the computer network of hospitals, bringing their functioning to a screeching halt, thus forcing panic-stricken managements to pay ransom to get the network decrypted has also brought online fraudsters rich dividends.
“Three diagnostic centres and a hospital in the State were targeted in this manner. Fortunately, they had a solid backup, and they alerted us promptly,” said Mr. Abraham.
Offers on portals
Shopping scams enticing online customers with tantalising offers in the name of popular e-commerce portals have also been widely reported in the State.
“Emails with malicious links in the garb of COVID care assistance playing on the anxieties of people are also being used. Once they click on it, malware takes over the computer, stealing valuable credentials like credit card details. Often, the users are oblivious to it,” said Mr. Abraham.
Difficult task
Since online fraudsters are not hampered by geographical limitations, it is not easy to bring them to book. Being careful at the individual-level by not falling for suspicious links remains the primary defence.
“We have swept the Internet very closely and issued successive alerts of potential threats since the outbreak of the pandemic,” said Mr. Abraham.