ScamSmart

Not Just a Medical Virus?


Over the past few of days, companies and private individuals have increasingly been receiving emails, phone calls, texts attempting to take advantage of the COVID-19 emergency. This is a type of online fraudulent activity named Phishing.

Many of these Phishing attempts may appear to be from legitimate organisations. As we’ve seen in the past week, the latest target for impersonation is the World Health Organisation.

Fraudulent phishing emails will often ask you to:

— Give sensitive information, such as usernames or passwords

— Click a malicious link

— Open a malicious attachment.

Following this, criminals can install malware or steal sensitive information.

Beware of criminals pretending to be WHO

To prevent yourself falling foul of this latest scam, make yourself familiar with the below:


The World Health Organization will:

  1. never ask for your username or password to access safety information
  2. never email attachments you didn’t ask for
  3. never ask you to visit a link outside of www.who.int 
  4. never charge money to apply for a job, register for a conference, or reserve a hotel
  5. never conduct lotteries or offer prizes, grants, certificates or funding through email.

The only call for donations WHO has issued is the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which is linked to below. 

Any other appeal for funding or donations that appears to be from WHO is a scam. 

COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

You can verify if communication is legitimate by contacting WHO directly.

Contact WHO


Source: https://www.who.int/about/cyber-security

More steps to avoid scams

If you suspect a scam, call Action Fraud straight away on 0300 123 2040, or the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.
Raymond James supports the ScamSmart campaign from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which aims to help investors make smart decisions regarding their investments and pensions and avoid becoming the victims of scams.
Fraudsters are becoming increasingly adept at what they do, and their methods can be extremely sophisticated. Visit our page for guidance on how to be more vigilant, and how to spot the warning signs of a scam.

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