Issue: New phishing attempts Cyber thieves are using the recent developments surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as an opportunity to send phishing emails and spread malware attacks. Most recently, we’ve seen phishing emails impersonating the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health authorities. An example is a phishing email that specifically tricks users into downloading and running a malicious application that, while showing a coronavirus map loaded from a legitimate online source, in the background is collecting credit card numbers, login credentials and various other sensitive information.
Consideration: Look for these red flags and follow these steps if you suspect an email or phone call is a potential phishing attempt:
• Unsolicited communications, especially from organizations or companies with whom you have no relationship.
• Requests for transactions such as direct deposit or electronic funds transfer.
• Requests with an overwhelming sense of urgency, or asking you complete an attached document immediately.
• Requests for your username and/or password, or other personal details such as banking information or log in credentials.
• Links that don’t match: roll your cursor over the link and see if the link that pops up is consistent with the email address and message content. If not, don’t click.
• Always independently verify that the source of emails or phone calls requesting information or providing wire transfer instructions is legitimate and that people are who they say they are.
This article provides general information, and should not be construed as specific legal advice. As with all matters of a legal nature, you should consult with your own legal counsel. The Hartford shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages in connection with the use by you or anyone of the information provided herein. 20-GS-289986 © March 2020 The Hartford
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