Scammers Are Approaching Social Media Influencers to Spread Coronavirus Awareness

Verified Facebook and Instagram users are often offered to promote particular projects or agendas that suit their audience. Cybercriminals are now trying to lure these influencers through email fraud in disguise to request their assistance to spread awareness about COVID-19, and offer them $1,500 a week.

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The influencers are asked to promote content on their pages by giving access to the scammers. In return for a few posts a week, they will get $1500. But this is a scam, and once the scammer has permissions of the Influencers profile, the damage is endless.

"World Health Organisation (WHO) is fighting against CORONA VIRUS. We want you to help us through social media. We are willing to do advertisements on your Facebook page, for awareness peoples and save humans' lives," read an email that came from some obscure health organization.

RED LIGHT. No matter what you are promised, NEVER give access to someone you don't know to any of your logins. While Facebook and Instagram are working to ban ads posing as cures for Coronavirus and other content that is exploiting the pandemic, it's impossible to stop cybercriminals from trying to approach people via other platforms.

Keep yourself safe from COVID-19 Cybersecurity threats:

• Take extra care with emails that look like they are from an official institute like the WHO and avoid the Coronavirus phishing scam.
• If you are working remotely, read this guide.
• Don't believe everything you see and read. Many false advertisements are luring you in to get access to your data.
• Enable account monitoring to get notified immediately if your information has surfaced the web.
• Use browser protection like Guardio so that even if you click on a dangerous link, you will be alerted BEFORE entering the website and endangering your privacy.

Cyber hygiene is just as crucial as personal hygiene. Take extra care during these fragile times, and be sure to reach out to the Guardio team if you have any questions.

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