Media Release | 20 March 2020
Online Scammers Use Virus Fear
Victoria’s peak body for older Victorians, the Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria, today warned the community of an online scam campaign designed to look like legitimate community awareness information on COVID-19, but in reality, is a Trojan horse.
COTA Victoria has combined with MailGuard, a leading international technological innovator and email security service, to alert senior members of the community to criminal intent email threats.
CEO of COTA Victoria, Tina Hogarth-Clarke said a consumer awareness bulletin by MailGuard has alerted clients to the issue which could lead to major fraud, especially on older and unsuspecting seniors.
“The MailGuard report revealed that Interpol has reported cybercriminals have exploited the Coronavirus to scam millions ($) from hapless victims who are fearful about the growing pandemic.”
COTA Victoria is supporting the Federal and State Government’s information and communication programs through these difficult times and we would urge the community to rely only on information from official sources.
“Online scams such as these can have a major financial and emotional impact on the quality of life of older vulnerable Australians,” Ms Hogarth-Clarke said.
CEO of MailGuard, Craig McDonald said “The Coronavirus pandemic presents cybercriminals with an opportunity to exploit those that are vulnerable, and perhaps distracted or acting out of fear.
“Over the past weeks the MailGuard team has intercepted a number of email scams exploiting the fear and confusion in the community around the virus,” Mr McDonald said.
Download the free MailGuard booklet here.
Media Enquiries:
Ron Smith, Special Projects, COTA Victoria – Mobile: 0417 329 201
MailGuard Pty Ltd. media@mailguard.com.au