Covid has been around for more than seven months now. And in that time, it has become the number one source of phishing attacks worldwide. We even detailed ten ways hackers use Covid to phish you in a recent post. It’s been so widespread, almost everyone is wary of Covid-related phishing emails by now. You might think that would put an end to them, but nothing could be further from the truth. When it comes to fraudsters, Covid is the gift that keeps on giving.
According to research done by Next Caller and reported on Help Net Security, “A pending second stimulus package, combined with a clear urgency from Americans around receiving it, indicates that another wave of activity from customers and criminals is on the horizon. Rising reports of fraud activity signal not only that fraudsters are eager to replicate their initial success, but that some of those early schemes may just be getting started.”
It’s hard to imagine things getting worse. According to the report, “55% of Americans believe they’ve been targeted by COVID-related fraud.” In spite of that “59% of Americans claim that they have not taken any additional precautions to protect themselves from attacks.”
So, to recap, more than half of Americans have already been targeted by Covid-related fraud, more than half have done nothing to protect themselves going forward and things are expecting to get worse. Okay.
There is little doubt that the next round of stimulus checks will lead to a new round of phishing attacks. Many Americans are desperate for the money, which makes them really vulnerable. “When asked about their view of the next stimulus checks, 41% of Americans said ‘I really need another check'” while “53% of Americans say that they have already sought out information related to the next round of checks.” The next wave is on its way. Is there anything that can be done to stop it? As a matter of fact, there is. It’s called Phish Protection.
Phish Protection is low-cost, cloud-based email security designed to keep Covid-related phishing emails out of inboxes. It doesn’t require any hardware or software or maintenance. Just 10 minutes to set up and you’re protected. And the best part? It only costs pennies per user per month.
The next round of Covid-related phishing emails is on its way. There’s no time like the present to protect yourself, your family or your company, and there’s no more cost-effective way to do it than with Phish Protection.