NCSC removes over 2,000 coronavirus scams

27 Apr 2020

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has removed more than 2,000 online coronavirus (COVID-19) scams during the last month.

The NCSC has joinied forces with the country's mobile industry, banking sector and finance sector to combat cyber security threats.

The COVID-19 scams taken down include 471 fraudulent shops, 555 malware distribution sites and 200 phishing sites seeking access to personal information. In addition, the NCSC has closed 832 advance-fee frauds, where a large sum of money is promised in return for a set-up payment.

The ongoing industry initiative by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), Mobile UK and UK Finance, supported by the NCSC, is helping to identify and block fraudulent SMS texts and safeguard messages from legitimate businesses and organisations.

Commenting on the initiative, Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: 'Banks are joining forces with other industries and law enforcement to protect the public from cruel coronavirus scams.

'We would urge consumers to be on their guard against criminals exploiting the COVID-19 outbreak to commit fraud.

'Always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and avoid clicking on links in any unsolicited text messages in case it's a scam.'