Cuttack: To ensure that people of the state do not fall prey to cyber crimes during the COVID-19 crisis, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Odisha Crime Branch, Cuttack today issued an advisory on cyber frauds relating to the deadly virus.
It also issued a slew of suggestions to help people stay away from such frauds.
“Some instances of abuses of cyber space by some criminals exploiting spread of COVID-19 have come to our noice. Attackers are using various methods to exploit the fear and need for information related to Coronavirus among people around the world,” a notification issued by the Odisha Crime Branch said.
The cyber offenders are using various tactics to dupe money from people. Some of the Modus Operandi include sharing fake malicious documents (e.g. health advisories, COVID-19 response documents, etc.), creating fake websites or apps related to Coronavirus, running spam campaigns of selling masks, sanitizers and coronavirus vaccines, and offering fake ‘Corona special offers’ on online shopping windows. Social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram have become their most effective weapons for spreading fake news among the masses, the communique said.
In order to stay away from such cyber crimes, the Crime Branch has issued the following suggestions:
Now that the number of COVID-19 positive cases is rising by the day in the state, people staying indoors have much time to dig more about the virus and how to stay immune to its infection. Such circumstances have opened doors for cyber fraudsters to dupe people of their money by feeding them with misinformation regarding the lethal virus. After receiving frequent cases of cyber loot, the CID-Crime Branch came up with this advisory.
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