In one scam, fraudsters pretend to be processing EI claims, preying on Canadians who’ve recently lost their jobs. Users are asked to enter their details, only for the information to be accessed by criminals.<\/p>\n
Other schemes\u00a0come disguised as messages from Shoppers Drug Mart, Public Health Agency of Canada or the World Health Organization. In all cases, the goal is to steal a user’s information or money, or infect their devices with malware.<\/p>\n
“The tactics are still the same, it’s just the subject matter that’s changed,” said Joe Martin, with North Vancouver-based tech firm Compunet.<\/p>\n
“People who do this for a living, they know that they’re going to get some clicks, as long as the coronavirus continues to be an issue.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n According to\u00a0analysis<\/u>\u00a0by virtual private network provider Atlas VPN, the number of active websites used for phishing has increased by 350 per cent between January and March, just as the COVID-19 crisis erupted.<\/p>\n What’s more, California-based Barracuda Networks\u00a0said<\/u> it had observed a 667 per cent spike in phishing emails from the end of February until late March.<\/p>\n The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CACF) said Friday it had received 75 reports since March 5 related to coronavirus-related scams, adding Canadians had fallen victim in at least 13 instances. The real number of targets and victims is likely much higher, considering few users complain to authorities.<\/p>\n The U.K.’s Action Fraud network said coronavirus-related scams have cost Britons almost \u00a3970,000 (nearly $1.7 million Cdn). The FBI warned Americans to be wary of emails purporting to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and to “be cautious of anyone selling products that claim to prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19.”<\/p>\n Toronto-based cybersecurity consultant Ritesh Kotak said he had been repeatedly targeted in COVID-19-related scams, receiving “numerous” phishing messages since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n “My general advice is ‘think twice before you click,'” he said. Kotak also advises using a virtual private network at home for added protection.<\/p>\n Compunet, the B.C.-based firm, sent out an email to clients with the following guidance:<\/p>\n Cybersecurity firm Click Armor, based in Ottawa, even created an online self-assessment tool called “Can I Be Phished?<\/u>” The platform presents a series of emails and asks users to flag the messages as either safe or suspicious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “It comes down to people being aware of how they might be targeted and what their vulnerabilities are,” Scott Wright, Click Armor’s CEO said in an interview.<\/p>\n “We see a lot of attacks happening that try to exploit people’s anxieties” related to the pandemic itself and companies’ adjustment to it,\u00a0Wright said.<\/p>\n He warned\u00a0even consumers\u00a0who believe\u00a0they follow best practices can fall victim to scams.<\/p>\n CBC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.5513325.1585350096!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_780\/shoppers-drug-mart.jpg\")
<\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.5513345.1585353483!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpeg_gen\/derivatives\/original_780\/fraudulent-text.jpeg\")
<\/div>How to prevent phishing<\/h2>\n
\n
‘Can I Be Phished?’<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.5513342.1585350630!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_780\/can-i-be-phished.jpg\")
<\/div>