One of Canada’s national intelligence agencies, the Communications Security Establishment, says it has removed numerous fraudulent websites amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The agency told CBC News that fraudsters are spoofing several government organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Revenue and the Canada Border Services Agency.
In one instance, fraudsters posed as the Public Health Agency and told people that they had tested positive for COVID-19. They then asked for credit card information to send a prescription.
Some fraudsters are posing as the federal government and sending phishing emails related to COVID-19 to spread malware.
CBC News reports that some scammers have tried to sell miracle cures or different ways to treat or prevent the virus. Some fraudsters claim to sell testing kits, even though testing in Canada is only being done by the government and not by private companies.
The Communications Security Establishment has sent out a warning to the healthcare sector, since fraudsters may target research labs in an attempt to obtain ransom payments. It advised the healthcare sector to be aware of phishing and to monitor network logs.
Unfortunately, scammers have been using COVID-19 to target people for quite some time now. Last month, the United Nations issued a warning about criminal groups posing as the WHO in malicious emails that ask for sensitive information.
Further, the Canadian Red Cross recently issued a warning about fraudulent texts and emails that pose as the organization to take advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Source: CBC News
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