Federal government reports sharp increase in threatening emails and fake phone calls

The National Center for Cybersecurity (NCSC) released its semi-annual report Thursday — and it’s really picking up. Various scams and other cyber threats have increased.

What about the threatening emails?

The NCSC experts:

In the first half of 2022, the number of threatening emails has risen sharply. the NCSC about 70 percent more reports than in the same period of the previous year.

At the end of June, the NCSC had received 17,186 such reports, the center announced on Thursday. In the first half of 2021, there were only 10,234 reports. The main reason for the increase was reports of threatening emails on behalf of the police.

The scam was seen in France for several years and then spread to Switzerland. The most common variant claims to come from the Federal Police or, more precisely, its director, Nicoletta Della Valle.

Senders can also be cantonal police. The NCSC itself has also been misused to give fraudulent e-mails an official appearance.

The alleged authorities’ senders used in the threatening emails changed frequently and were strung together completely incoherently.

To communicate with the victims, the perpetrators often used hacked email accounts belonging to students from various universities in Europe and Brazil.

Phone Spoofing “Explodes”?

In the words of the NCSC, the number of reported cases of spoofing has “virtually exploded.” “Questionable call centers” misused private phone numbers to trick the called person into taking the call or calling back. While 17 cases were reported in the first half of 2021, there were 319 in the first half of 2022.

If the same numbers are used over and over for spoofing, the actual owners of these numbers will be inundated with callback requests. Some reporters received up to 50 calls a day. The NCSC writes that this is more than annoying and that hardly anything can be done to prevent misuse of the number.

“Suspiciously High” Promises of Return – What’s Behind It?

The NCSC also reports millions of dollars in fraud. In total, scammers stole more than 3 million francs in the first half of 2022. The NCSC notes that losses in the six-figure range are not uncommon. Investment fraud in particular causes great damage.

In the face of “suspiciously high” promises of return, the victims rejected any indication of fraud. In most cases, the dubious websites are only a few months old.

Phishing: The Ad Scam

The NCSC received about as many reports of phishing as in the same period last year. Fake package announcements continued to dominate. A popular scam was reportedly double-paid phone bills: if the credit card number is given, the money would be refunded.

Phishing attempts via classified ads have increased. Alleged buyers promise to transfer the price for the goods and their transportation. The seller then has to pay the transport company. On the website of an alleged parcel service provider, which then reports, payment is made by credit card and the credit card details are stated.

What about ransomware?

Although ransomware reports decreased slightly from 91 to 83 reports compared to the same period last year, this form of attack is still the most acute cyber threat to organizations in Switzerland, according to the press release accompanying the half-year report. Since the beginning of the year, several organizations in various sectors have been targeted by ransomware attacks.

The NCSC experts warn:

sources

(dsc/sda)