A global pandemic won’t stop scammers from trying to trick you into turning over your personal information. In fact, scammers are increasing their attempts to deceive you amid the COVID-19 crisis.
While some scammers are adapting their messages to specifically prey on the fears surrounding COVID-19, others are using tried and true scams in the hopes you’ll be so distracted by everything else going on that you’ll click on or respond to a message you otherwise would delete.
Now more than ever is a time to be extra vigilant when you receive an unsolicited or suspicious message.
Some common scams you should look out for during the COVID-19 crisis include:
- Extortion/sextortion scam: This scam claims the recipients’ accounts were hacked and they were secretly recorded while visiting adult websites. These scams generally demand payment in bitcoin to prevent compromising videos from being released, but now these scams are also threatening to infect the recipients’ families with COVID-19 if they don’t pay up. These “sextortion” scams often include passwords leaked in data breaches that the recipients previously used in order to make the threats appear legitimate. If you recognize the password and still use it, change it now.
- COVID-19 stimulus/fundraising/health care scams: These scams are arriving in new forms every day but include fake fundraising pleas from the World Health Organization, bogus health care tips for fighting COVID-19, phony coronavirus tracking maps, stimulus funding scams and sham Zoom meeting invites. As always, avoid opening attachments or clicking on links on unsolicited or suspicious emails. Also, if an attachment you open asks you to [Enable content] when you open it, or make some other security downgrade, don’t do it – it’s a trick.
- Job offer scams: Job offer scams often promise good pay for part-time work, and with millions of people out of jobs due to COVID-19, this scam may be particularly enticing now. This type of scam often tells the recipients to deposit checks into their personal checking accounts and then withdraw the funds to purchase gift cards or wire money to other accounts. The checks are later found to be fraudulent, leaving the recipient on the hook for paying back the amount of the counterfeit checks. Never accept a job that requires depositing checks into your account and wiring portions to other individuals or accounts.
- Gift card scam: This scam often starts with an email or text message that asks the recipient: “Are you available?” If the recipient responds, the scammer — posing as a person in a leadership position — claims they are caught in a meeting, requests the recipient purchase Amazon or iTunes gift cards on their behalf and promises to reimburse them later
Cybercriminals are always scheming up new ways to trick you into giving them your usernames and passwords, so, it’s important to know how to spot a scam. Use our tips for spotting phishing scams and malicious websites to help protect yourself, and always check our list of known scams if you receive an email you think is suspicious.
If you receive a suspicious email or text message, please contact the Technology Support Center at 856-256-4400 or forward the email to support@rowan.edu, and we’ll help you determine whether it’s legitimate or not.