During major global events, threat actors take advantage of charged political environments and a prevailing overload of information to help lend credence to the delivery mechanisms they use to carry out malicious activity. This tactic has proven especially effective during the COVID-19 pandemic as scams purporting to contain information, news, and remedies related to the virus—many with a political lean—have saturated the internet.
In "ScamNation," RiskIQ's latest research report, RiskIQ researchers leveraged our internet-wide visibility and unique data sets to identify and explicitly define scam ecosystems exploiting the pandemic for monetary gain through the spread of false information and the sale of fraudulent products online. The report identifies a network of "content farm" websites publishing misleading, highly partisan articles that have lately focused on COVID-19. Scammers use these sites to promote ads that lure users into "subscription traps," which, through misleading messaging and hidden language in the fine print, trap buyers into making monthly payments that are difficult, if not impossible, to escape.
Article Link: https://www.riskiq.com/blog/external-threat-management/scamnation/