COVID-19 CTI League is Here To Serve and Protect
From time to time, I am asked the following question: “What is the one thing unethical people fear?” The answer is not always obvious, but it is easy: “The ethical.” When ethical people band together in whatever way they can, the results can be astonishing.
The Digital Security Community
You may not have heard of the COVID-19 CTI League but it should give all of us hope in the time of a pandemic crisis. The “League,” funded by nothing except ethics, is composed of 400 volunteers from around the world, who are blocking fraudsters capitalizing on the fears of people, as well as any cyber-attacks on the medical community.
The fight is real and it is constant. There is no end to fraudsters seeking to take advantage of others. We should not be surprised. Unethical behavior, online or not, seeks to take advantage of a lack of oversite in the chaos or opportunities to get around a system when other people are simply trying to do the right thing.
To illustrate my point, here is a collection of three blocked scams that occurred just in the last week of March 2020, as the world had ramped up its efforts against a viral particle:
- The Fake “Corona AV” Scam – This organization had a scam campaign going entitled: “Corona Antivirus -World’s best protection.” They had the nerve to suggest (for a fee, of course) that a virtual anti-virus program they could download would protect people against the real thing. In fact, they doubled down on their marketing efforts by claiming the program was developed in conjunction with their scientists at Harvard University.
- The Netflix Scam – An “organization” of fraudsters offered free Netflix passes to the recipient of the email, plus up to ten of their friends to receive an unlimited movie pass. All they had to do was to click on a link which led them to a fake site with realistic graphics. Those who were naïve enough were asked to fill out and submit an innocuous-looking questionnaire which did nothing more than to enable the scam artists to capture emails and personal information. Obviously, Netflix had nothing to do with this. The capture of email addresses and personal information is valuable to fraudsters as it may lead them to credit card numbers and banking data.
- The Coronavirus Finder – This insidious scam (for a small, seemingly “nothing fee,”) included a “banking trojan.” The finder promised to show the number of people in the area who were infected. In that way, the person could gauge the degree of social distancing that had to be employed. It was all a trick to get the person signing up to submit credit card numbers in the hope it would lead to their banks.
Other scams, the very same week included “free protective masks,” a feel-good payment of $500 for anyone who was shut-in, and a free meal program for their children. All it took to unlock any of these bargains were credit card numbers, personal and/or banking information. The graphics and programs were so realistic so as to fool most users into believing they were true.
The frauds and scams have all been shut down, but the COVID-19 CTI League promises that each week will bring many more.
Combatting COVID Fraud
Every one of the phishing attempts had as its sole purpose, the need to separate people from their money. They especially love to prey on the lonely and the fearful. It is of interest to know that oftentimes, Millennials and “Gen-Z” are more susceptible to online fraud than Boomers or Gen-X. Why? There is often a casualness to accepting what is seen online as truthful.
Fraudsters don’t change. Their methodology might, but the basic elements of the fraud are unchanging. The ethical might ask: “How can a person rationalize taking money from someone lonely and afraid?” The answer is altogether too easy as well: they don’t care.
The best defense is to reach out to those in isolation, as well as to younger, naïve people and those who are not computer savvy. Look at it in a positive light: reaching out to others to ease their loneliness is ethical in and of itself. It is as good for them, as for you.
It is heartening to see spontaneous acts of ethical behavior. It should give us all a sense of hope for the future.
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS!
