Scammers Use COVID-19 Fear to Extort Bitcoins

As COVID-19 is spreading around the world, scammers are taking advantage of people's fears in order to extort Bitcoins.

Many people have received direct extortion emails asking to pay $4,000 in digital currencies, including Bitcoin, else their family will be infected with the coronavirus.

These emails are well-crafted and even include publicly available personal information to create panic in the potential victims.

Sophos, an IT security company, revealed that the scammers are also sending emails to many people impersonating as the World Health Organization (WHO) and asking for donations in digital currencies.

"First, Sophos noticed phishing attackers using the World Health Organization (WHO) as a lure. Next, numerous malware gangs began to disguise their malicious wares as COVID-19-themed documents. Now today, we are seeing cyberattackers impersonating WHO charities, this time the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund," Chester Wisniewski, a principal research scientist at Sophos, said.

These emails are very "real looking" but have no ties with the WHO or any authentic charitable organizations.

"The tell-tale clue is the request for Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term, rather than credit cards or other currency. Due to the ability to trace and stop real wire transfers and credit cards, criminals prefer to rely on Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term to attempt to preserve their anonymity and freedom and the Bitcoin payment request seen here is a sign that something isn't right about this email," Wisniewski added.

Using every tactic to lure victims

Apart from the emails, scammers are also trying to inject malware in computers using COVID-19 themed documents.

Notably, with the coronavirus outbreak, the search activity on the topic increased drastically, and scammers are taking advantage of this interest.

"Numerous malware gangs began to disguise their malicious wares as COVID-19-themed documents. Now today, we are seeing cyber attackers impersonating WHO charities, this time the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund."