The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is warning about phishing attacks that use fake COVID-19 vaccine research to steal money from unsuspecting citizens or trick them into giving up their personal information.
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The malicious actors behind these attacks promise potential victims cash or prizesif they complete fake surveys. In reality, however, they harvest the personal information that unsuspecting victims fill out to fuel fraud schemes that include identity theft.
Specifically, the DoJ reported the following:
“Citizens receive the surveys via email and text message and are told that, as a reward for completing the survey, they can choose from a variety of free prizes, such as an iPad Pro. The messages claim that citizens will only need to pay shipping costs to receive their prize. Victims provide their credit card information and are charged for shipping costs, but never receive the promised prize. Victims also expose their personal information to the scammers, increasing the likelihood of identity theft.”
The DoJ Public Affairs Office recommends that you do not click on links you receive via messages or emails that claim to be vaccine research if they come from unknown and unverified sources.
See also: USA: Buying/selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards is a crime
Citizens who have received phishing emails or messages using COVID-19 vaccine research samples are urged to report such incidents to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) via the NCDF Report Form or by calling 866-720-5721.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that the number of identity theft doubled in 2020 compared to 2019, with a record 1.4 million reports from citizens within a single year.
On March 31, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warned of an active phishing campaign impersonating it and targeting educational institutions.
Proposal: US DoJ: Charges 500 people for participating in COVID-19 scams!
Additionally, the New York City Department of Financial Services (DFS) has disclosed additional information regarding an ongoing series of attacks that have already resulted in the theft of personal information belonging to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
To protect yourself from identity theft attempts, you can get an Identity Protection PIN as soon as possible to block identity thieves from filing “fraudulent” tax returns in your name using your stolen personal information. More details on how to recognize and protect yourself from such phishing attacks are available on the FBI and FTC websites.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
