First published: 06th February 2020
Don't let a health crisis become a cybercrime crisis too. A fraudulent email, purporting to be sent by the Hong Kong Department of Health, has been received by a number of .hk email addresses.
The message briefly describes the current novel coronavirus outbreak, and then solicits donations "to gather teams from all over the world to make a vaccine", with a link labelled https://www.dh.gov.hk/donate/coronavirus-2020 but actually going to http://akaselkorea.co.kr/wp/.sat/Corona/ . That webpage has a form, with HK Government-branding, to collect credit card information and other sensitive personal data. The page is hosted on an insecure website of a Korean Metallography supplies company.
Obviously, it would be very unwise to enter any credit card or personal information on the fraudulent page. Users should remain vigilant about online threats, even during this Global Health Emergency. Be suspicious of unsolicited emails, check the sender's details, watch for discrepancies between links and their labels, verify information with trusted sources.
