Phishing emails and their associated websites often impersonate well-known organizations, brands, businesses, and other familiar subjects to try to trap potential victims. They can spoof banks and financial establishments, hospitals and healthcare groups, and even one's own employer. A series of recent phishing emails examined by INKY targeted people curious or anxious about COVID-19 by impersonating the White House and some in the administration.
In a report released Thursday entitled "Exploiting a Pandemic: White House COVID-19 Phishing Scams," INKY discussed two phishing campaigns that exploited the White House. Both were sent from email accounts hosted in Russia and were purportedly from the federal government and Donald Trump.
The first email claimed that the current coronavirus quarantine would last until August 2020 and said that the Treasury Department and the IRS have moved "Tax Day" from the usual April 15 to August 15. (The filing date has actually been moved to July 15.) This email contained a link to download the president's new coronavirus guidelines for America.