CDC, IRS and Other Federal Sites Spoofed in Global Phishing Scams

New research has identified more than 300 phishing email campaigns over the past two months, some of which impersonated and spoofed websites from federal agencies, international governments, and public health organizations involved in COVID-19 relief. They mimicked web sites of agencies such as the CDC, FEMA, IRS, WHO, the Federal Reserve, the White House, and the governments of other countries, in attempts to steal banking credentials. A common theme for almost all the campaigns was an effort to leverage interest in the COVID-19 pandemic, but they otherwise adopted a general “spray and pray” strategy for victims, with little apparent focus on specific individuals or industries.