Coronavirus: Odisha Police issues advisory on cyber frauds

Bhubaneswar, Apr 10 () With instances of abuse ofcyber space relating to COVID-19 coming to the notice of theauthorities, the Odisha Police has issued an advisory askingcitizens to be cautious against fraudsters spreadingmisinformation.

Besides spreading fake versions of health advisories,COVID-19 response documents in the name of trusted agencieslike the government, the World Health Organisation (WHO), thescammers are employing various methods to exploit the fearamong the people related to the deadly virus, the police said.

The threat groups are running spam campaigns ofselling masks, sanitisers, coronavirus vaccines on onlineshopping portals, ADG, Crime Branch, Soumendra Priyadarshisaid in the advisory.

Besides offering premium goods at an unbelievableprice in the name of "Corona special offer", they are alsosending emails and messages to persons threatening to infectthem with the virus, he said.

The groups are also carrying out spear-phishingcampaigns targeting government officials, the advisory said.

"Once the attackers succeed in tricking their targetsto accept the bait, they can earn huge amount of money fromthe victims, create a state of panic or target the victimssystem for carrying out other cyber crimes such as espionage,spread ransomware, steal data," the advisory issued by thecrime branch of the police said.

The police urged people to use only trusted sources,such as legitimate government websites for up-to-date, fact-based information about COVID-19, and never respond tounsolicited requests for personal and financial information.

It also suggested people to download mobile apps onlyfrom the official App Store, and verify the authenticity ofcharity campaigns related to COVID-19 prior to making anycontributions.

"Exercise extreme precaution before opening any e-mailattachment or clicking any link received from unknown senders,especially pertaining to information about coronavirus," itsaid.

Organisations should ensure that secure remote accesstechnologies are in place and configured correctly, includingthe use of multi-factor authentication, so that all employeescan conduct their work securely from home.

Individuals should avoid using personal device forwork and ensure that it has the same level of security as acompany-owned device, it said.

"Take care of data privacy and security of anysensitive information while working from home," the advisorysaid. AAMMM MM