Kingston Police warn COVID-19 vaccine may be fresh phish bait for scammers

Recently, pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that long-term trials of their COVID-19 vaccine have been highly successful. This exciting development is a huge step towards ending the pandemic, but experts say we are still far from a publicly available vaccine.

Unfortunately, good news like this is often used by scammers to catch your attention and manipulate your emotions, according to a release from Kingston Police, dated Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Expect to see mentions of a COVID-19 vaccine in phishing attacks and social media disinformation campaigns. 

Kingston Police share these tips to stay safe:

• Be suspicious of emails, texts, and social media posts that contain exciting or alarming information about a vaccine. This could be false information designed to intentionally mislead you, a tactic known as disinformation.
• Always think before you click. Cyber-attacks are designed to catch you off guard and trigger you to click impulsively.
• Stay informed by checking official government websites or following trusted news sources for information on vaccine developments.

Stop, look, and think. Don’t be fooled by the scammers.