The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has launched a campaign in response to the tidal wave of cyber scams and attacks exploiting fears of coronavirus, and is asking the public to report any suspicious emails they receive.
NCSC, a branch of GCHQ, today launched the suspicious email reporting service with instructions to the public to forward any questionable correspondence to report@phishing.gov.uk. The NCSC’s automated scanning system will comb through for the hallmarks of scams, and immediately take down criminal sites.
“Technology is helping us cope with the coronavirus crisis and will play a role helping us out of it, but that means cybersecurity is more important than ever,” said Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC. “That’s why we have created a new national reporting service for suspicious emails – and if they link to malicious content, it will be taken down or blocked. By forwarding messages to us, you will be protecting the UK from email scams and cybercrime.”
Coronavirus has prompted a huge uptick in cyber scams and hacking. NCSC removed more than 2,000 online scams related to coronavirus in the last month alone, including:
- 471 fake online shops selling fraudulent coronavirus-related items
- 555 malware distribution sites set up to cause significant damage to visitors
- 200 phishing sites seeking personal information such as passwords and credit card details
- 832 advance-fee frauds where a large sum of money is promised in return for a set-up payment
More than £2m has already been forfeited to coronavirus-related fraud in the UK, according to Action Fraud, with the true figure likely even higher because not every victim comes forward.
This week, NS Tech reported on a phishing scam targeting more than 21,000 people that sought to exploit the news of the NHS’ new app.
A wider, cross-governmental Cyber Aware campaign will serve up advice to help people protect passwords, accounts and devices from cyber criminals.
NCSC has also published new guidance on how to use videoconferencing tools securely, following Zoomgate. The recommendations include not setting meetings to public, connecting only to people through their contacts or address book, and never sharing the link or password publicly.
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“If you are organising the chat for your family or friends, consider using the lobby feature to ensure you know who has arrived,” said NCSC. “This is especially useful if individuals are joining the meeting via an unrecognised phone number. Verify participants’ identity when they join the meeting.”
“Criminals are seeking to exploit our greater use of emails, video conferencing and other technologies for their advantage,” said security minister James Brokenshire. “It’s despicable that they are using the coronavirus outbreak as cover to try to scam and steal from people in their homes. We all have a part to play in seeing they don’t succeed.”
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