March 20, 2020

Cyber criminals are capitalizing on the interest and hysteria created by the global Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis.  Fraudsters do not take time off, in fact, many prey on fear and urgency to fool unsuspecting victims.

Just today, Ed Sr received an attempted ransomware email threatening to “infect your entire family with coronavirus if you do not pay this ransom now!” 

Be on guard for the following:

  1. Any message attempting to create a strong sense of urgency to take a particular action.
  2. Any message that pressures you to do something.
  3. Any website or link that claims to track or map the outbreak.
  4. Any domain name (@domainname.com) or web link with any variant of "Coronavirus" or "COVID-19"

Our IT Company has provided us with the following link to check URLs (web address) for signs of suspicious behavior: 

VirusTotal

You can copy and paste the email address from a suspicious email in the Search box.

Many of you have heard about the federal government distributing funds to individuals. There is no plan in place at this moment, but the FTC has issued a warning, please follow this link https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/03/checks-government.
 
Remember the government will not call to ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer.
 
Here's an awesome summary from Brown University Computing & Information Services, with additional information and links to other authoritative sources: https://it.brown.edu/alerts/read/covid-19-related-phishing-attempts

Additional information can be found here :
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/coronavirus-scams-what-ftc-doing

Be cautious. Be smart.

Your team at Kohlhepp Investment Advisors, Ltd.

 

Source: EmberIT, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management