{"id":26821,"date":"2021-08-04T10:02:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T07:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=26821"},"modified":"2026-03-27T22:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:57:23","slug":"kaspersky-identifies-more-than-5000-pandemic-related-phishing-websites-since-the-beginning-of-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/kaspersky-identifies-more-than-5000-pandemic-related-phishing-websites-since-the-beginning-of-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaspersky identifies more than 5,000 pandemic-related phishing websites since the beginning of the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From March 2020 to July 2021, the global cybersecurity company prevented over a million user attempts to visit these sites*.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand how scammers exploit the epidemiological challenge, Kaspersky experts analyzed pandemic-related spam emails and phishing pages designed to steal users\u2019 credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various fake payment offers and discounted COVID-19 tests are among the most common schemes used by cybercriminals. Recently, phishing ads for fake QR codes and vaccination certificates for restaurants and public events have become popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3-8-21\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An example of a phishing website offering breathing masks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pandemic-related scamming activity peaked in March 2021. Kaspersky researchers observed a slight decline in June before cybercriminals intensified their efforts. During this month, Kaspersky products detected and blocked 14% more pandemic-related phishing websites than they did in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn most pandemic-related fraud, cybercriminals aim to obtain user data. Phishing is often used for this: a user follows a link from an ad or email and gets to a page where they are asked to enter personal information and bank card details. Once they have this information, attackers can use it to steal money from a target\u2019s accounts. If you see a message about the pandemic, we recommend you always double-check the information is from an official source and never give your personal data to suspicious sites,\u201d<\/em> comments Alexey Marchenko, Head of Content Filtering Methods Research at Kaspersky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to avoid falling victim to a scam, Kaspersky also advises users:<\/p>\n\n\n\n