Don’t be a ham and fall victim to fraud, scams and swindles because of the fear associated with the Influenza A (H1N1) or otherwise known as Swine Flu Pandemic that is sweeping the globe.
The world is in state of fear around the outbreak of Swine Flu from Mexico and the impact it is having across the globe. Businesses, schools and public facilities are wiping down door knobs, hand rails and another location where the people link up with others. However, long before any of us become the next statistic around Swine Flu we run the the risk of another virus that is now gathering speed across the world.
A new sort of virus
A global outbreak of scams, swindles and fraud is preying on the fears of people across the globe and right here in Alberta as news of the H1N1 virus strikes closer to home everyday. Over the next few days you will start seeing an increase of emails offering you every sort of preventative measure to protect you and your family (if you haven’t already). Emails, Twitter posts, Facebook Message and even blog posts with information and a variety of tips and tricks to protect you and keep you safe.
The old saying of “if it is too good to be true, then it is” comes to mind.
Internet security experts are now stating, swine flue scams are spreading faster than the actual virus itself.
There are four basic threats that many Albertans need to watch out for:
- Spam Emails – Swine Flu has been mentioned in about 4% of the spam being detected across the globe. That’s billions of emails. Many of them have been caught with attractive subject lines to grab the attention of the readers. These include: “Madonna Caught Swine Flu” or “Swine Flu in Hollywood”. There are many untrusted sources who leverage email phishing tactics to steal your information, credit card numbers and any information that maybe valuable to others.
- Malware – Malware writers love world events like the Swine Flu Pandemic. These people who create programs designed to infiltrate and damage computer systems are now beginning to leverage the world’s fear and taking advantage of people. Be on the look out for any emails with attachments that contain documents about “preventative measures around Swine Flu”. One PDF making its way around the net has an attachment called “Swine Influenza frequently asked questions”. Never open any attachment from a sender that you do not know or it is out of a person’s character. The latest malicious code to be dropped onto systems across Alberta is the Bloodhound.Exploit.6.
- Snake Oil Salesmen – With every world event comes the snake oil salesmen looking at getting rich quick. The Internet is a safe haven and breeze to setup online sites to sell anything, even if it is not a legitimate product. Alberta online consumers must practice “buyer beware”. There was an immediate increase the minute H1N1 hit the news with websites selling Swine Flu relief, remedies and survival medicines, devices and any other item that snake oil salespeople could pitch and sell on the global fear associated with H1N1.
- Low Quality Products – We always need to be on the look out for low quality products. Websites and emails offering low priced antivirul drops like Tamiflu are blasting their way across the net.
How can Albertan’s protect themselves?
Currently, there are no reported incidents. The door is open for these online scams and fraudulent activities they may have an impact on computer users and those concerned about the threat of swine flu. “Buyer Beware” and if something is to good to be true, then it probably is.
Here are some basic tips:
- Avoid opening email from an unknown source. Do not click on any links in the body of the email or open any attachments. Instead, delete the email immediately.
- Don’t believe online offers for vaccinations against H1N1 or Swine Flu, simply because a vaccine does not exist. Always consult with your doctors on health issues.
- Always, make sure your antivirus software is up to date, operating system patches are completed and if your computer becomes infected because of malware associated with Swine Flu called Bulletproof right away at 403.206.2233 or 403.340.1011.
