Google blocked an average of 18 million daily malicious coronavirus messages to Gmail users in the last week as hackers try to capitalize on fear and less secure remote-work setups
Google stopped millions of malicious coronavirus-related emails from reaching Gmail users last week, the company announced in a"During the last week, we saw 18 million daily malware and phishing emails related to COVID-19. This is in addition to more than 240 million COVID-related daily spam messages," the company said in the post.
Google said it blocks the vast majority of those messages, but warned Gmail users that hackers have been trying to "take advantage of the fear and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic" — often with phishing attempts that aren't new but are just custom-tailored to the current situation. Hackers have tried to exploit Gmail users in a variety of ways, including: impersonating public health authorities like the World Health Organization to "solicit fraudulent donations or distribute malware" and imitating government agencies to take advantage of businesses awaiting money from the stimulus bill or trying to abide by stay-at-home orders.
Phishing attempts and scams have been on the rise during the pandemic as hackers look to exploit people's fears surrounding the virus. The Federal Trade Commission said it has received more than 15,000 coronavirus-related consumer complaints of fraud and scams so far in 2020, amounting toHackers are also targeting businesses that may be relying on less secure IT infrastructure amid remote work environments.
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