Coronavirus

Fraud,Cybercrime and Intimidation – The Coronavirus ‘criminal’ side-effect

cde.news desk 31 March 2020, 00:16 · 1 min read

epa07181357 Jurgen Stock, Secretary General of Interpol speaks during a press conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 November 2018. South Korea's Kim Jong Yang was on 21 November elected the new president of Interpol at the organization's 87th General Assembly in Dubai. The South Korean, who will serve a two-year term, ran against Russia's Alexander Prokopchuk, whose candidacy led to criticism from the US and other countries such as the Ukraine and Lithuania over fears of a potential politicization of Interpol. EPA-EFE/ALI HAIDER

The COVID-19 pandemic has “sparked new crime trends”, the head of Interpol told Euronews on Monday, warning that organised crime groups have adapted their activities to benefit from the global health crisis.

Jurgen Stock revealed to Euronews that police forces around the world have already seized counterfeited medical items, including “thousands of counterfeited substandard protective masks, so-called corona spray, corona medicine and substandard hand sanitiser”.

Cybercriminals also use the pandemic to spread malware by also claiming to be health officials and encouraging people to open attachments.

Last week, Interpol announced that 121 arrests had been made worldwide in a vast operation against the illicit online sales of medicines and medical products.

Euronews

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Topics Coronavirus Criminality Interpol

Fraud,Cybercrime and Intimidation – The Coronavirus ‘criminal’ side-effect

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