Cyber Crime Is On the Rise As More Maltese People Rely On Internet During COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered us vulnerable on all fronts and, with more people relying on computing systems and the internet at home, cybercrime has become a real threat.
Lovin Malta has received several reports of internet users experiencing some form of cybercrime over the past few weeks including one instance in which a hacker tried to coerce $1,900 off a Maltese man.
“It happened to me last weekend, I had to change my passwords and install two-step authentication anywhere I could,” the cybercrime victim told Lovin Malta.
“They knew parts of my password. There were attempted logins on my Hotmail from 10 different countries in just 24 hours,” he said.
The email claims to have installed malware on adult sites which then started operating as a ‘keylogger and remote desktop protocol’ which allegedly gave the hacker access to the user’s webcam.
In an attempt to blackmail the user, the email requested $1900 to be transferred via Bitcoin.
Other internet users told Lovin Malta that they’ve been locked out of their Facebook as a result of an attempted login from a foreign country.
The Malta Police Force took to Facebook to address the issue, notifying the public on what they should and should not due if they do find themselves a victim of cybercrime/hacking.
If you do come across some form of cybercrime, The Malta Police Force suggests to do the following:
- Don’t panic. Your password was probably publicised in an old data leak. Criminals bank on the fact that most people use common passwords for their accounts and rarely change them.
- Don’t reply to these messages. Ignore such messages as any attempt to engage is another opportunity for the criminal to put further pressure on you.
- Don’t send any money. In such cases, criminals wouldn’t have any private information – they are simply putting pressure on you to get you to comply with their requests.
Have you experienced some sort of cybercrime during the COVID-19 pandemic? Let us know in the comments below
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