Google Reports 18m Coronavirus Scam Emails Every Day

Hackers and scammers are sending roughly 18 million hoax emails about Covid-19 every day, according to Google and the virus may now be the biggest phishing topic ever. 

Google's Gmail is used by 1.5 billion people and the company says the pandemic has led to an explosion of phishing attacks in which criminals try to trick users into revealing personal data.  Cyber criminals are and others typically pretend to be working for a government organisation sending emails pretending to be from “the admin department” and asking the recipient to click on a dangerous link. Individuals are being sent a huge variety of emails which impersonate authorities, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), in an effort to persuade victims to download software or donate to bogus causes.

Cyber-criminals are also attempting to capitalise on government support packages by imitating public institutions.
Google claims that its machine-learning tools are able to block more than 99.9% of emails from reaching its users.
Google said its malware scanner uses deep-learning tech to detect malware on 300 billion attachments each week, and 63 per cent of dodgy docs blocked by Gmail are different from day to day.

Researchers have also found malicious websites and smartphone applications based on genuine coronavirus resources. 
One malicious Android app claims to help track the spread of the virus, but instead infects the phone with ransomware and demands payment to restore the device. Both the UK National Cyber Security Centre and the US Department of Homeland Security have issued an advisory wqrning in which they say  they notice "an increasing number of malicious cyber-actors" that were "exploiting the current Covid-19 pandemic for their own objectives".

Although Gmail and other email platforms endeavor to catch these odious emails, you should still stay alert for such content, and always take extra care when it comes to downloading attachments or clicking on links.

Google:           NCSC:       BBC:       Digital Trands:    The Regsiter:  

You Might Also Read: 

An 'Infodemic' Of Phishing & Malware: