More than 1000 coronavirus scam sites created every day
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THE message to beware of scammers taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis has been reinforced by international research that found over 35,500 websites related to Covid-19 had been created in the last month.
This amounts to an astonishing 1900 per cent increase in coronavirus-related website scams from February to March.
Research firm Atlas VPN also found that at least 2000 websites related to Covid-19 are created daily, with half of them being used
to swindle money via phishing scams or pretending to sell masks, hand-sanitizers, or even virus testing kits.
Amazon and Shopify are taking action by removing misleading listings or shutting down suspicious e-shop sites, but Atlas VPN chief executive Rachel Welsh is cautioning the public to beware.
“Due to the short supply, most trusted vendors are unable to provide medical equipment to customers," she said.
"People are panicking, which pushes them towards making irrational decisions. This way, they end up paying money to scammers. If well-known, trusted suppliers are out of stock, it is unlikely that an unknown website will have those items, especially with even government orders being delayed.”
Police Scotland has already issued warnings to the public, telling them to beware of fake websites sell products or offering so-called cures or testing kits, or requesting donations to help victims.
