Really There Are Some Nasty People In The World – Just Sickening Stuff!

This appeared a day or so ago.

https://itwire.com/health/accc-issues-warning-on-covid-19-scams.html

Friday, 20 March 2020 11:25

ACCC issues warning on COVID-19 scams

By Peter Dinham

Scammers in Australia are adapting existing technology to play on people’s fears around coronavirus and selling products claiming to prevent or cure the virus, according to consumer watchdog the ACCC.

Since 1 January 2020, the ACCC’s Scamwatch service has received 94 reports of scams about coronavirus, and warns figures are starting to climb.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Deputy Chair Delia Rickard has issued a warning that Scamwatch has received multiple reports of phishing scams sent via email or text message that claim to be providing official information on coronavirus but are attempts to try and obtain personal data.

“Unfortunately, scammers are using the uncertainty around COVID-19, or coronavirus, to take advantage of people,” Rickard said.

“Other scams include people receiving misinformation about cures for coronavirus and investment scams claiming coronavirus has created opportunities to make money.

Here is the link:

https://itwire.com/health/accc-issues-warning-on-covid-19-scams.html

Revoltingly it seems the world is afflicted with such jerks. From the US we have.

OCR Shares COVID-19 Cyber Scam Advice, as Hackers Impersonate WHO

Hackers are taking advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak by impersonating WHO in coronavirus phishing campaigns. In response, OCR urges providers to review DHS cyber scam advice.

By Jessica Davis

March 18, 2020 - The Office for Civil Rights issued an alert for healthcare providers urging them to review recent COVID-19 cyber scam guidance from the Department of Homeland Security, as hackers continue to target users with coronavirus phishing campaigns.

Healthcare providers are being warned to stay vigilant for these types of scams first outlined by DHS’ Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency on March 6.

Cybercriminals are sending emails with malicious attachments or links to fraudulent websites in an attempt to gain access to sensitive information. As a result, organizations should be cautious when handling emails with subject lines, attachments, or hyperlinks related to Coronavirus, or COVID-19.

The Malwarebytes Lab research team has also seen a resurgence of a malspam phishing campaign impersonating the World Health Organization. The first campaign was discovered by MalwareHunterTeam on March 7.

Researchers have been monitoring for these types of campaigns in light of the rise of hackers taking advantage of the pandemic. On March 17, Malwarebytes again observed a WHO-related phishing campaign.

The subject line reads “Latest on the corona-virus.” While the misspelling could alert users to the maliciousness of the attack, the impersonation of WHO could tempt users to open the email. The actors are using a fake e-book to lure potential victims, claiming the resource contains coronavirus research and guidance on how to protect businesses and children from infection.

To increase the chance of success, the threat actors added teaser content within the body of the email, including four transmission scenarios for COVID-19 and response actions. Windows users are then told the book can be downloaded for free access.

If the malicious .zip attachment is opened, GuLoader malware is then downloaded onto the victims’ network. Malwarebytes explained that GuLoader is used to download Formbook, an information-stealing Trojan stored in encoded format of Google Drive.

“Formbook is one of the most popular info-stealers, thanks to its simplicity and its wide range of capabilities, including swiping content from the Windows clipboard, keylogging, and stealing browser data,” researchers wrote.

“Stolen data is sent back to a command and control server maintained by the threat actors,” they added.

Fortunately, despite obvious attempts to appear reputable, a close examination of the email body reveals several grammatical errors and unmatching fonts.

However, researchers warn that many users have fallen for less convincing schemes. And with more employees working remotely and using remote platforms, the “highly distributed network is increasing” – as is the risk.

CISA’s recommendations include not clicking links in unsolicited emails and being suspicious of email attachments. Phishing education has been proven to reduce healthcare’s cyber risk. Organizations can find helpful spear-phishing insights from Microsoft and Europol.

Further, employees should be encouraged to get up-to-date, factual Coronavirus information from trusted sources, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while ensuring they don’t reveal any personal or financial information via email nor respond to email requests for information.

CISA has also shared risk management insights for COVID-19 to help organizations evaluate the cybersecurity, physical, and supply chain risks that may arise due to the pandemic. The agency is working with industry stakeholders on containment and mitigation strategies, as healthcare professionals will prove crucial during the national emergency.

More here:

https://healthitsecurity.com/news/ocr-shares-covid-19-cyber-scam-advice-as-hackers-impersonate-who

Its hard to know what to add to a story like this. I wish all of these nasties would just crawl back under the various rocks they came from.

David.