Phishers are using the coronavirus as bait to obtain email credentials.

Coronavirus is also dangerous via email - The most important thing to start with: Cybercriminals send phishing emails in the name of the CDC in which you are directed to a link in which you can enter your email login details. Be careful when receiving such emails.

Emails on behalf of a disease control organization

Emails are currently circulating that appear to be sent by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
This organization actually exists in the USA. Measures regarding the coronavirus are recommended. The sender address ends at cdc-gov.org, which at first glance seems very convincing, the actual domain of the organization is called cdc.gov.

The content says that the CDC has "established a management system to coordinate a national and international public health response" and asks recipients to open a page showing new cases of infection in their city. The link also seems very credible with the domain ending cdc.gov.

Screenshot Phishing Email @Kaspersky
Screenshot Phishing Email @Kaspersky

Input mask in Microsoft Outlook design

If you click on the link in the email, you will be taken to a page that is similar to the Microsoft Outlook user interface. Here you should enter your email address and password.

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Screenshot Phishing input mask @Kaspersky

But instead of going to an information page, the data is forwarded to the cybercriminals. This gives them access to the email accounts and can search for content that is worth stealing.

Attention as the highest priority

If you receive such emails, pay attention to the following details to avoid becoming a victim of this phishing attack:

  • If the sender's email address ends in cdc-gov.org instead of cdc.gov, it is a phishing email.
  • If you move the mouse over the link in the email, you can see where this link leads. The actual link address differs from that in the text.
  • The design of the page to which you are redirected is reminiscent of a Microsoft page. However, this looks completely different. Under no circumstances should you enter your login information on anything other than an actual Microsoft site.

If any of these things apply, you should definitely not click on the link, download any attachments, and certainly not enter any login information.

Coronavirus as a pretext for fraud

Hot topics that concern people are all too readily used by evildoers to carry out their scams.

Recently there were also phishing emails that appeared to have been sent by the CDC, this time with the address ending cdcgov.org. These emails asked recipients to donate Bitcoins to fund vaccine research. Of course, the CDC does not accept Bitcoin and does not call for donations.

We recently reported on another case here: Coronavirus used to spread malware

Source: Kaspersky
Article image: Shutterstock / By Eny Setiyowati


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