5 common types of COVID-19-related online scams spotted by Google

Google has detected several types of online scams that are gaining traction as the world battles the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to Google’s Senior Director for Account Security, Identity, and Abuse Mark Risher, they have seen 18 million daily malware and phishing attempts related to COVID-19, in addition to more than 240 million COVID-related spam messages in the past couple of weeks.

Beward of these scams, classified by Google into five categories:

1. Falsely representing health organizations: Scammers posing as health authorities, such as the WHO or CDC, may offer cures, tests or other COVID-19 information.
2. Websites selling fraudulent products: Sites might offer hand sanitizer, face masks or other in-demand products that never arrive.
3. Posing as government sources: Some scams claim to issue updates and payments on behalf of the IRS or local government tax authority.
4. Fraudulent financial offers: Scammers may pose as banks, investors or debt collectors, with offers designed to steal financial information.
5. Fake non-profit donation requests: Requests for COVID-19 donations to nonprofits, hospitals or other organizations should be checked carefully.

To help users stay safe online, Google is helping its users spot and avoid these COVID-19 scams by launching the site: g.co/covidsecuritytips.

"(The site) g.co/securitycheck is meant to be your one-stop-shop, so if you think something’s happened, go directly to that site," Risher told GMA News Online during an online briefing on Friday.

He added, "That will tell you about any devices that are still logged in. If, let’s say, if somebody computer in a cyber cafe is connected to your route. You’ll be able to see that and you can click right there to disconnect them. It will tell you if your password seems to be compromised. It will tell you if there seems to be any suspicious activity. And if we're able to, we’ll also guide you through instructions."

Risher also noted that terms like COVID-19 "didn’t even exist three of four months ago."

"So the fact that our systems recognized this little spike in the new traffic can automatically adjust the defenses that make Gmail users and Google users much, much more safe than they would be if it was left to just rules and patterns," he said.

"I hope you all can stay safe both in the real world and also protect yourselves online," he added.

—JCB, GMA News