Security News > 2020 > April > How businesses and individuals can be ensnared by coronavirus-related spam
Cybercriminals have been busy exploiting the coronavirus by creating malicious virus-themed websites, apps, and emails.
Released on Thursday, IBM X-Force's 2020 Consumer & Small Business COVID-19 Awareness Study found that many people don't understand that certain government agencies, such as the IRS, would never contact them by email.
Among the respondents to IBM X-Force's survey, 46% said they'd expect to receive official information related to COVID-19 via email, while a third would expect to receive it through conventional mail.
Specifically, 35% said they'd expect to receive communication from the IRS by email, while 33% said they'd expect to receive notices from the World Health Organization by email.
In the face of the SBA relief scams, more than half of all respondents and 64% of those recently unemployed said they'd engage with an email related to their stimulus relief eligibility.