CNBC just shared an article mid last week that overall Americans have lost over $13m in fraud cases linked to COVID19. This does not reflect 2019 but just from the beginning of 2020, says FTC. Keep the fact in mind that these are just the reported numbers! Hackers are at no mercy when it comes to amping up their business due to fraud at this unprecedented times. According to the article, many frauds belong to travel industry, online shopping, bogus text messages and imposter scams as we all shift to our new normal and find ways to cope with novice virus and be able to depend on internet to provide us the convenience of home deliveries and online accessibility.
Scammers are thriving with scams like online websites promising delivery of trusted cleaning products and masks which obviously is not arriving. Hackers are also banking on reimbursement for canceled travel plans.
Beside the online hacking and bogus scamming, scammers are also trying to steal the stimulus check that is being sent to Americans. IRS is spotting bogus cures & treatments as scammers are hard at work via creating bogus texts, emails, calls from a ‘government agency’ promising to get your stimulus money out.
There’s no stopping hackers and these are just the top few frauds that’s being reported due to COVID19. So far, there’s been over $430m in fraud reported to FTC through the end of March. It is imperative that global citizens are not only aware but vigilant of these active frauds. The fraud acts upon your vulnerability, whether is from personal lives and actions or business. 60% of small businesses face ‘out of business’ after cyber attack but these statistics do not speak of our current ‘new normal’.
Any business owner – big or small – with any sort of online presence ought to put security measurement in place along with risk mitigation plan so if after all that could have been done to tighten up the security posture, there’s a mitigation plan to offset the cost of what is OUT of your control.