Home Malware Programs Adware 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' Email Scam

'COVID-19 Relief Fund' Email Scam

Posted: May 11, 2020

Cybercriminals are milking the COVID-19 pandemic to spread malware and tactics by using this topic that billions of people are bound to be interested in. One of the latest email tactics is linked to the non-existing 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' – the fraudulent email is meant to trick users into believing that they have been chosen to receive a one-time relief fund payment worth $155,000. While many of these tactics tend to target regular users, the 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' email scam appears to be targeted towards business owners – the fraudulent message's contents state that the relief fund is part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and it is meant to help business owners that are struggling during the pandemic.

While it is true that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is involved in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak heavily, you can rest assured that such a fund does not exist, and the 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' email scam is a threatening tactic that may cost you a lot of money.

It is not yet disclosed what is the ultimate goal of the 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' email scam, but it is very likely that the con artists behind it will try to receive potentially confidential information or even financial details. According to the main message, the 'winner' is meant to send their name, occupation, location, and phone number to the fraudsters. However, it is highly unlikely that these will be the only piece of information that the fraudsters demand – users who opt to contact them may be asked to provide more details or be convinced to pay a 'processing fee' to receive the $155,000. The latter strategy is very popular among fraudsters since many people might be tempted to pay a few hundred dollars transaction fee to receive tens of thousands of dollars in return.

If you see the 'COVID-19 Relief Fund' email scam in your inbox, we advise you to ignore its contents. If such a fund does become a reality, you can rest assured that you will not be contacted via a random email message.

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