As Harold Wilson once said, “A week is a long time in politics.” These days it feels as though a week is a long time for pretty much everybody. We listen to the daily announcements to find out what the government has in store for us today to try to deal with the Cornavirus crisis, and every day seems to bring a new plan.
Yesterday the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced some new financial assistance which is to be made available to businesses, to help them weather the storm whilst still being able to pay staff, suppliers, etc. What people now need to be wary of are the criminals that will send phishing emails and host fake websites, offering to provide these benefits for those in need.
Naturally, they will need lots of information… The people who fall for these scams will then find that the suffering that they had before is nothing compared to what they will have to deal with once their bank accounts have been emptied and they are liable for goods that they did not order and debts that they were not aware of. There are no depths that these criminals will not stoop to: if they can rip someone off then they will.
Every day of this crisis, watch for the new announcements: Then expect the themed phishing scams and social engineering to follow. For now though, make sure that you think before you click on anything to do with the government providing financial aid to your business.
A week is a very long time for us all at the moment; expect the criminals to be moving just as quickly as the responses to the crisis. Be very careful in these strange times.
For anyone needing help with implementing suitable defences or putting security awareness training in place please email partnersuport@brigantia.com or call 020 3358 0090.