Cybercriminals, like to take advantage of fear. They are taking advantage of the ignorance-fueled COVID-19 Delta variant surge. Attackers are increasingly using business-looking COVID phish emails to do their dastardly deeds.
More than half of employers are forcing a to return to the office. Employers are requiring the submission of paperwork such as COVID test results and proof of vaccination to keep your job. Hackers know that communication from employers about COVID can spark an emotional reaction and compel people to click. Researchers at Proofpoint found that business looking COVID phish attempts have increased by 33%.
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of these requirements. The demands for COVID paperwork give the attackers more ways to disguising their phishing attempts. Sherrod DeGrippo, Vice-President of Threat Research and Detection at Proofpoint, told The Washington Post. “That almost makes it easier for the bad actors because people are getting used to: ‘Upload your negative test here, go download this COVID form, fill it out.’”
Fake O365 COVID phish attempts
Proofpoint has detected fake Microsoft Office 365 phishing emails from cybercriminals posing as human resource departments. The attackers ask the recipients to submit proof of vaccination. The attacker’s goal is to steal your Microsoft 365 sign-in credentials. If you receive such an email, be sure to take the time to verify that it’s come directly from the organization you work for. One’s vaccination card contains useful information such as birthdates or full names, which hackers could target.
Proofpoint’s research has found emails telling employees they’ve lost their jobs due to COVID-19 are also on the rise. And what better way to do that than tell someone they’ve been fired? Mr. DeGrippo explains “It quite literally is clickbait. They need you to click on them, so in order to get the person to take the action, you’ve got to escalate their emotional state to one that has them emotional, instead of intellectual — thinking with the smart part of the brain.”
What if you suspect a phishing email
Breathe – If an email seems to make you particularly angry, worried, or curious – it’s best to pause for a moment before you click.- Altered domain names are a giveaway. Did “humanresources@widgit.com” suddenly become “HR@widgit.com” – verify these requests through a second channel — get someone from HR on the phone before opening it.
- Be skeptical of emails from familiar people (like the CEO) who do not usually communicate directly with you. Don’t click on links or open attachments from those senders. Always get someone on the phone before opening it.
- Hover over the link to expose the associated web addresses in the “to” and “from” fields. Your company’s email is probably not gmail.com.
Note grammatical errors in the text of the email; they’re usually a sure sign of fraud.- Use different passwords for your work and personal email. That way, if one gets compromised, hackers can’t break into the other and use it to compromise more accounts. A good password manager tool should help.
- Don’t forward suspicious emails to co-workers.
- Report suspicious emails to the IT security department.
- Install and keep up-to-date anti-malware software on all your devices to scan web sessions and emails.
- Never donate to charities via links included in an email; instead, go directly to the charity website to donate.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
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