“Most of the crimes that we have identified are carried out on the internet, so emails, websites, fake shops or posters for masks, emails offering masks that are fake,” says criminologist Olivier Beaudet-Labrecque. “In fact, you order the mask and never receive it. What we see the most are things that have a link to the internet and concern hygiene goods, such as masks, gels, gloves etc.”
The online page coronafraud. cheexternal link introduced on 26 March via the Institute for Combating Economic Crime (ILCE)external link at the University of Sciences and Applied Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) in Neuchtel. The knowledge collected is intended for study purposes. and it is not passed on to the authorities. The national point of contact for cybersecurity issues is the Information Assurance Reporting and Analysis Center (MELANI). External link
As of 23 April, around 163 out of a total of 245 reports filed in coronafraud. ch concerned hygiene products that did not meet the standards (e. g. expired masks) or were sold at a price that the victim considered “abusive”. Around 21 reports concerned companies and department stores that did not comply with the authorities’ guidelines. The rest were irrelevant reports or reports akin to phishing attempts or questionable internet sites offering miracle cures and online testing for the coronavirus.
Some of the most shocking acts of fraud occur with the sale of masks for up to 300 Swiss francs ($308) each and with others volunteering to shop for seniors, taking their money but never delivering the products. However, older people are not necessarily the most likely victims of such crimes, in part because they are not heavy internet users compared to other age groups. Most of those affected were between the ages of 31 and 50.
“There is no specific victim profile,” notes Beaudet-Labrecque. “It affects all ages and both sexes… Because you are more vulnerable, you are quicker to trust people offering help.”
The vast majority of reports of fraud originate from French-speaking Switzerland, which accounted for 148 reports, compared with 66 from Italian-speaking cantons and 31 from German-speaking regions. Beaudet-Labrecque cautions that these trends may be a function of the project’s visibility in different parts of the country, rather than a higher likelihood of fraud occurring in one language region versus the other.
Some opportunists pose as well-known organizations responding to the pandemic. One infamous case concerned a phishing email requesting a Bitcoin donation to the World Health Organization, to help ensure that frontline staff get must-have materials and that countries with the “weakest fitness systems” will be able to cope with Covid-19.
“Due to the general uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic, more and more criminals are looking to take advantage of the situation,” Credit Suisse notes on its website, encouraging its clients to remain vigilant in the face of government identity. Covid-19 supply theft and investment scams, fraudulent donations, and scammers setting up cloned businesses.
Zurich Police have warned against fake coronavirus mapping apps and fraudulent fundraisers.
At the end of March, the European police authority issued a similar warning focusing on fake medicines. As the Deutsche Welle newspaper reported at the time, police detected 2,000 websites providing fake remedies for the coronavirus in a global sting operation dubbed “Pandea. “Packages of fake medicines were confiscated in 90 countries.
In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning to Americans on March 22: “Scammers are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to borrow money, non-public information, or both,” the alert warns. Says. He warned the public to beware of fake emails from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Scammers, the alert notes, can use links sent via email to spread malware and borrow private data or lock a computer and demand payment from its user.
Beaudet-Labrecque sees some parallels between the Swiss experience and the kind of fraud committed after a natural disaster, such as a tornado hitting the USt. In both cases, people emerge offering “help”, preying on the vulnerable state of the victim who has been hit by catastrophe.
“Being in a general state of shock, tension and concern creates very favorable conditions for economic crimes,” explains the criminologist who teaches at ILCE.
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