Package fraud: here’s how you can protect yourself

Wonderful Times for Parcel Scammers – Here’s How You Can Protect Yourself

During the pandemic, millions of people are shopping, working or studying on the Internet. Cybercriminals followed them.

Niklaus Vontobel / ch media

The Plot Boom: This is one of the many opportunities the pandemic offers to scammers. SMS messages are sent, after which a package is waiting for delivery, shipping costs still have to be paid. If the victim clicks on the attached link, a form appears with the publication’s logo. You have to pay by credit card in the next four days. If the victim falls in love, the scammers quickly process credit card payments.

Other SMS indicate that you have a shipment from the post office and that you need to verify it in a link. If you enter the mobile phone number, purchases are activated through the Apple iTunes program. Or emails come in that appear to be coming from customs or parcel services such as DHL or the post office. Delivery did not work, a fee had to be paid for the second attempt.

Anyone who receives such news is experiencing a trend at the European level. “Covid-19 is creating an upward trend in internet crime,” European police authority Europol reported in its report on cybercrime. The Zurich Canton Police report that the number of digital crimes has multiplied in the wake of the pandemic.

Online shoppers are becoming lucrative targets

In the pandemic, millions more people shop, work or study online there. Scammers follow them. Europol’s report says: “Many people and companies that were less active online before have become lucrative targets during the crisis.” The pandemic has thus accelerated a trend. Fraud attempts have moved into the digital space for a long time.

Online purchases that are not delivered but have been paid for in advance are more common, according to the Zurich cantonal police. Or companies deliver goods but do not receive money. Romantic scams happen more frequently: great love is faked to steal money.

The recession is an opportunity for criminals. So there are more fraudulent investment deals online and more people are falling in love with them. Your money is not invested, but is transferred immediately. In times of crisis there are more desperate attempts to make money with investments that seem tempting.

It is difficult for the authorities to provide exact figures. Among other things, because victims often do not report to the police. Europol should be based on the interviews it conducts with the authorities of the Member States. In Switzerland there is no general reporting requirement. The figures will be published for the first time next year.

Internet criminals use local customer advisors

On the other hand, it is well documented that fraud is a growing industry in general. In Switzerland there were 9,563 cases in 2014, five years later there were 17,606 (plus 84 percent).

According to the canton of Zurich police, cybercrime is seen as the engine of this trend. The chief investigator for the white-collar crime department told an association of experts: “We expect another boost.”

There are some constant hiding behind the crowd and variety of attacks.

Cybercrime is constantly evolving, Europol said. Criminals specialize in individual services and sell them to other scammers: infrastructures for phishing campaigns, for example, or individual support services. Consultants and software developers offer their services. In technical jargon, this is called “cybercrime as a service.” And the fake emails or websites seem confusingly similar to the real ones. Scammers also sometimes use “local customer service agents” who speak to victims in dialect.

But cybercrime is not just about this technological sophistication. It is often the same phishing scam. Scammers look for data to see who is cheating and revealing personal information, such as a credit card. These tricks always have to do with the human element, which is much less complicated. People are pressed for time or tempted by a profit. And don’t look at exactly where you are quickly entering your data. Many cyberattacks are fairly simple, but they can fool many people.

For these tricks, scammers like to use any current data: lot boom, recession, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, fear of scammers. Therefore, the Swiss National Cybersecurity Center warns: “The attackers refer to current events such as the pandemic or natural disasters to exploit the good faith of potential victims.”

Taking advantage of current problems is a common trick. In the United States, for example, scammers are often around after hurricanes. Volunteering as craftsmen, residents repair the devastated houses cheaply and take the deposit. After the terrorist attacks, they intend to collect donations for the victims. To do this, they spoof the websites of recognized aid organizations and thus collect credit card data. The pattern is so common that the US Department of Justice has had its own “Natural Disaster Fraud” department for years. (aargauerzeitung.ch)