Good or bad some persons always find a way to take advantage of the situation to make money. To these people, it doesn’t really matter who is at the other end suffering from their actions. And as bad as the Covid-19 pandemic, some persons are looking for ways to take advantage of the public using a Covid-19 App as ransomware.
A Covid-19 App is a malware that steals your personal information and its owners asks for some ransom else they use the information against you. At first, it may appear as a useful app, but once installed it is actually useless. It is now important for you to protect not just yourself at home but also online. As you navigate the internet looking for latest news, you also have to be careful to avoid been a victim of a ransomware attack.
The latest update we have gathered so far regarding the Covid-19 situation is that some persons are trying to hack into personal accounts/data using a fake Covid-19 application.
Others have created a simple form saying that the government is paying N8,500 grant to all its citizens. All details required in these forms includes, full name, phone number and account number (all personal information).
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According to the report from NTAi (Nigeria Television Authority International), this new Covid-19 App once installed gives access to some personal details (that is what a malware does). The persons behind this scheme then request you to send $100 else they do some real damage.
This act makes the fake covid-19 app a ransomware. A ransomware is a malware that gathers personal data and hackers uses it to threaten victims to pay a ransom else they use the personal data they collected against the victim.
How To Stay Safe Online During Covid-19 Pandemic
To stay safe online during this period, we have put together some tips below to help you
- Only take information from credible sources like, official government social media handles and websites
- Do not download or fill any form that request your personal details online as regard Covid-19 grant or anything related
- Avoid the download and installation of any app named covid-19
- Don’t help in sharing such post on WhatsApp, Facebook or any other social media platform
- Report any suspicious site or app to the appropriate authority in your country
The entire world is going through a hard time and we hope we’ll come out stronger. But we can only do this together as people. Which means we have to try to keep ourselves safe online and offline.
Note that if there is any grant or app regarding the covid-19 Pandemic, the government of your country will make an official announcement. The likes of United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America all have such plans and it was made known on TV by the Presidents themselves.
Follow the simple rules above to stay safe online during this period. Avoid the download any Covid-19 App. More cool stuffs are in line in the tech and smartphone industry waiting to be released when the Covid-19 pandemic calms down. To get tech updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Till our next update, Adiós Amigos
