Ottawa Police Warning New COVID-19 Hospital Phishing Scam

Exploit: Phishing
Company: The Ottawa Hospital
Industry: Healthcare
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/phishing-scam-ottawa-hospital-1.5525331

Citizens of Ottawa are being warned about a new COVID-19 phishing scam that originated from The Ottawa Hospital. With concerns of the pandemic growing, cyber criminals are taking advantage of the situation and preying on the public’s fears.

Ottawa police were notified of an email that was sent from an impostor claiming to be a representative of The Ottawa Hospital. In the email, the recipient was warned that they had come in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The email reads, “You recently came into contact with a colleague/friend/family member who has COVID-19. Please print attached form that has your information prefilled and proceed to the nearest emergency clinic."

Thus far, the police have not clarified the intentions of the email leaving the public to speculate whether or not the attachment contains malware, if it is an attempt to obtain personal data, or perhaps something else altogether.

Upon contact with The Ottawa Hospital, a representative warned that they too had received an email. Hospital representatives and Ottawa police are advising anyone that receives such an email to delete it immediately.

With an astounding increase of cyber criminal activity inspired from the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens are being warned not to click on any links or attachments without verifying sources. Contacting an organization directly for verification on any questionable correspondence, or seeking information directly from the sources website is also being advised rather than clicking on links/attachments or calling back unknown phone numbers. Sgt. Steven Desjourdy of the Ottawa police fraud unit provided a statement to CBC advising, "If you have a doubt, or you're not sure, simply contact the source.”

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