{"id":3977,"date":"2021-12-03T19:10:24","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T13:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/?p=3977"},"modified":"2021-12-03T19:10:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T13:40:26","slug":"phishing-threat-actors-start-exploiting-the-omicron-covid-19-variant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/phishing-threat-actors-start-exploiting-the-omicron-covid-19-variant\/","title":{"rendered":"Phishing Threat Actors Start Exploiting the Omicron COVID-19 Variant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Phishing Actors have immediately started to exploit the evolution of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and now utilize it as a lure in their malicious email operations. Threat actors are quick to adjust to the latest trends and hot topics, and increasing people\u2019s fears is a very good way to cause people to rush to open an email without first thinking it through.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this case, the Omicron variant is an emerging strain of COVID-19 that has scientists concerned over its high transmissibility and the potential ineffectiveness of existing vaccines against its mutations.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This all makes it an ideal topic for phishing, as even the vaccinated are worried about how Omicron would affect them in the case of an infection.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How is a Phishing Operation targeting the UK?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">UK\u2019s consumer protection organization \u2018Which?\u2019 published two samples of new phishing emails pretending to be from the United Kingdom&#8217;s National Health Service (NHS) warning about the new Omicron variant.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3979\" width=\"236\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image1.jpg 713w, https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image1-209x300.jpg 209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These emails offer recipients a free Omicron PCR test that will allegedly help them get around restrictions. To add trust in the emails, the malicious address used for distributing these emails is \u2018contact-nhs@nhscontact.com\u2019.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If the recipient clicks on the embedded \u201cGet it now\u201d button or taps on the URL in the email body, they are taken to a fake NHS website claiming to offer the &#8220;COVID-19 Omicron PCR test.&#8221;<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image2.jpg\" alt=\"Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image2\" class=\"wp-image-3980\" width=\"427\" height=\"322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image2.jpg 777w, https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image2-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Phishing-Threat-Actors-Start-Exploiting-the-Omicron-COVID-19-Variant-Image2-768x578.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The victims are then directed to enter their full name, date of birth, home address, mobile phone number, and email address. Finally, they are requested to make a payment of $1.65, which is supposed to cover the delivery cost of the test results.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The purpose of this is not to steal the amount itself but the payment details of the victim, like the e-banking credentials or their credit card details.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During that step, the victim is also requested to enter their mother\u2019s name, which the actors could use to bypass security questions during a subsequent account takeover attempt.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What to do if you got scammed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you think you might have entered your details on a fraudulent site, contact your bank immediately and cancel your compromised card\/accounts. Monitor your bank accounts closely and review the transactions for any signs of unauthorized payments.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you receive an email that looks suspicious, report it at \u201creport@phishing.gov.uk\u201d. To report smashing texts, forward them to 7726.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phishing Actors have immediately started to exploit the evolution of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and now utilize it as a lure in their malicious email operations. Threat actors are quick to adjust to the latest trends and hot topics, and increasing people\u2019s fears is a very good way to cause people to rush to open [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Phishing Threat Actors Start Exploiting the Omicron COVID-19 Variant - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/phishing-threat-actors-start-exploiting-the-omicron-covid-19-variant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Phishing Threat Actors Start Exploiting the Omicron COVID-19 Variant - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Phishing Actors have immediately started to exploit the evolution of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and now utilize it as a lure in their malicious email operations. 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