Criminals and scammers are ambushing well-meaning people
during times of tragedy, so it is important to be on the
lookout, a cybersecurity expert warns.
Author of the
book ‘She’ll Be Right (Not!) – a cybersecurity guide for
Kiwi business owners – SMB cybersecurity expert Daniel
Watson, said that unfortunately, no matter how tragic an
event, there will always be criminals waiting to take
advantage of these moments to steal from
others.
Following the recent death of British Queen
Elizabeth II, it took only a few days for scammers to create
fake emails enticing people to give up their personal
details—data is a highly valued currency in the criminal
world.
The scammer tried to mimic an official
Microsoft email (Microsoft had nothing to do with the
message) asking people to click on a link, enter their
condolences about the Queen and submit a few personal
details.
According to the scammers, the purported goal
of the email was to help create a fictitious “interactive AI
memory board in honour of Her Majesty Elizabeth
II.”
The scammers were using a platform known as
EvilProxy which embedded a clickable link that took the
unwitting griever instead to a credential harvesting
page.
Watson said such scams are all too common and
can be highly damaging for people if they are caught out.
Perhaps even more worrying, he added, is that many people
must still fall for these…
