Top COVID-19 Web Scams And How To Help Prevent Them

Using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity, fraudsters are utilising sophisticated methods to callously exploit people and businesses, with many concerned about their financial situation and the state of the economy.

This article aims to remind people and businesses that COVID-19 scams are still prevalent with little sign of abating. It’s important that you take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information in case it’s a scam.

As website owners, trust is a significant factor for success right now. Hackers are using malicious malware to promote coronavirus discount codes and special offers. Cybercriminals are also using the branding of ‘trusted’ companies in phishing attacks. Even trusted companies like the World Health Organisation and U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are being exploited by hackers to establish credibility.

According to the Check Point Software’s Global Threat Index for January 2020, “cyber-criminals are exploiting interest in the global epidemic to spread malicious activity, with several spam campaigns relating to the outbreak of the virus.”

With security being a top priority, here are a few things website security considerations:

• Secure your site with SSL – Implementing HTTPS protects things like credit card numbers, browsing history, and more.
• Monitor log files for crawl errors – This analysis can be used to detect spambots that are trying to infiltrate your website.
• Update your theme and plugins – Hackers tend to look at exploiting old themes and plugins for vulnerabilities. Make sure you regularly update, so you’re not an easy target.

In an interesting and helpful article by Bullguard Web Security, they believe the risks to home workers and small businesses are considerable. Many employees use personal devices at home that are not properly protected, which can compromise company networks.

“The most pressing concern for many small businesses is end devices that aren’t protected, whether these are company computer or a user’s own device. If these devices are infected with malware either via an infected website site, phishing email, or malicious app it can lead to a damaging malware infection. Sensitive data and ID information are certainly at risk of being stolen. If hit by a ransomware infection, devices, databases, work documents can all be locked down. Essentially a business can be shut down until a ransom is paid.”

Check out the useful infographic below for more details on the top COVID-19 frauds doing the rounds currently and how to prevent them:

How Wrexham Tech can help

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