Frauds post fake Covid files to cheat people

The malicious documents are related to coronavirus

The novel coronavirus, that has taken the world by storm, is now being employed by cyber crooks as a means to gather more clicks on their phishing websites or to make unspecting customers download malicious files.

Cybersecurity detection technologies have found malicious files disguised as documents related to the newly discovered coronavirus – a virus that has been at the top of media headlines due to its dangerous nature.

As it turns out, a few cybercriminals from the city too have been using this technique to pilfer money from unsuspecting persons in the city. However, no case has been registered as yet.

“Anytime something big happens, cybercriminals are the first to contemplate and figure out ways to make money out of people. They usually send out mails claiming to be from the World Health Organisation (WHO) or some government body,” Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, told Deccan Chronicle.

According to Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and antivirus brand: ‘These files are masked under the guise of pdf, mp4, docx files about the coronavirus. The names of files imply that they contain video instructions on how to protect oneself from the virus, updates on the threat and even virus detection procedures, which is not actually the case.’

In fact, these files contain a range of threats from Trojans to worms which are capable of destroying, blocking, modifying or copying data, as well as interfering with the operation of computers or computer networks. “These files ultimately lead to phishing links wherein the hacker would demand for some money to release the system,” said an expert from Kaspersky. The message in these mails is short and asks readers to open a link within the email or open an attachment for detailed safety measures and whom to contact. Once the reader clicks the link, she is re-directed to a fake website, created to steal the user’s details. In case the email attachment is opened, it leads to the automatic installation of a key-logger that can steal and send the activity log of infected computer to the remote cybercriminal.