{"id":12164,"date":"2021-03-02T15:12:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T20:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/?p=12164"},"modified":"2021-03-11T13:53:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:53:08","slug":"coronavirus-scams-phishing-websites-emails-target-unsuspecting-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/coronavirus-scams-phishing-websites-emails-target-unsuspecting-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Scams: Phishing Websites & Emails Target Unsuspecting Users"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As COVID-19 fears grow, hundreds of Coronavirus-themed domains are being used to spread malware and steal information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Information<\/p>

Note: This article, which was originally published in 2020, has been updated to include related news & media resources<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Amongst growing fears of this global pandemic, Coronavirus scams and malicious websites are on the rise. The latest news from the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3)<\/a>, a new malicious website is circulating on the internet that targets unsuspecting users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

True to their selfish nature, cybercriminals are taking\nadvantage of public panic about the global Coronavirus pandemic for their own\nselfish goals. Now, of course, this concept is nothing new. Cybercriminals are\nalways looking for the next best thing to take advantage of. But that doesn\u2019t\nmean that it isn\u2019t a serious issue that you can simply ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is this new phishing website and why should you be\nconcerned about it? And what are some of the other Coronavirus scam tactics\nthat cybercriminals are using to take advantage of the global pandemic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s hash it out.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybercriminals Create Coronavirus Tracker Map to Spread Info-Stealing\nMalware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When something\u2019s wrong, people frequently turn to the\ninternet to get the latest information. Cybercriminals know this and are\ncreating fraudulent websites that impersonate real, reputable authorities. Their\nlatest tactic? Live tracker websites. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n

In truly low-life fashion, some schmuck decided to create a phishing website, corona-virus-map[dot]com (and, no, please don\u2019t type that into your browser), that appears to be a legitimate COVID-19 live tracking map for the virus. In this case, HC3 reports that the cybercriminals were impersonating John\u2019s Hopkins University, a world-renowned health institution, to infect website visitors with the AZORult trojan<\/a>. This program exfiltrates a wealth of sensitive data that can be sold on the dark web or used to commit cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a screenshot from the official HC3 notification about\nthe phishing scam site: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In general, Coronavirus themed cyber attacks and phishing websites are becoming a lot more common as news about the virus continuously blasts from virtually every media outlet. Check Point, a cybersecurity firm, recently reported on their blog<\/a> that CNN alone hosts more than 1,200 articles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the same blog post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince January 2020, based on Check Point Threat Intelligence, there have been over 4,000 coronavirus-related domains registered globally. Out of these websites, 3% were found to be malicious and an additional 5% are suspicious. Coronavirus- related domains are 50% more likely to be malicious than other domains registered at the same period, and also higher than recent seasonal themes such as Valentine\u2019s day.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In addition to users finding the website organically through\nweb searches, the website was circulated via a variety of other tactics,\nincluding: <\/p>\n\n\n\n