Hackers are already impersonating the UN’s health agency in an effort to carry out a variety of scams, from account takeovers to phony donation requests and the spread of malware. The FTC is also warning of “spoofed” emails, text messages, and phone calls that claim to be from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Consumers can expect to see a wide range of coronavirus-related “phishing” (fake email), “smishing” (text message phishing), and “vishing” (phone fraud) scams over the coming weeks and months. These scams will prey on our insecurities about how and where the virus is spreading, and they could take several forms — such as fake health agency warnings about infections in your local area, vaccine and treatment offers, medical test results, health insurance cancellation, alerts about critical supply shortages, and more.