New online fraud resource center launched by buguroo to counter COVID-19 phishing scams

buguroo has launched a free new Online Banking Fraud Resources Center to counter the growing wave of phishing activity accompanying the novel coronavirus outbreak with a centralized way for consumers to check if they are being targeted.

The company has observed a 75 percent increase in the number of online sessions with anomalous and suspicious user behavior as most of the world was going into lockdown between January and March. In mobile banking sessions, the increase in sessions flagged as risky was closer to five times as high.

The COVID-19 Online Banking Fraud Resources Center gives visitors a place to report and check the legitimacy of messages and social media posts they receive, and access a hub of up-to-date information on the latest fraud campaigns and social engineering tricks cybercriminals are using.

“Consumers all over the world are being bombarded with emails, text messages and social posts offering a wide range of Covid-related advice and products – we’ve seen everything from discounted hand sanitizer to eligibility for a tax refund – many of them a ruse to get the recipient to give up their personal data and bank details,” explains buguroo Founder and CEO Pablo de la Riva.

“Some of these attempts are so audacious and convincing that it’s hard to spot if they are bogus; we hope our new online resource center will make it easier for consumers to make that distinction and stay safe.”

Consumers can also forward any suspicious messages to phishing@buguroo.com for investigation by the company’s team of dedicated fraud experts. The team analyzes links, images, forms, URLs and scripts to determine if the message is a scam, and alerts the person who sent the message in if it is. Details will also be shared with local law enforcement, in the hopes of preventing further attacks.

UK and U.S. officials have warned that phishing attacks from APT groups have attempted to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article Topics

banking  |  behavioral biometrics  |  biometrics  |  buguroo  |  cybersecurity  |  fraud prevention