Microsoft has reported a massive phishing campaign that uses an Excel attachment as bait. The phishing email looks like it is from the Coronavirus Research Center of John Hopkins University–a well known medical organization in the US. The email includes an Excel attachment that is disguised as an updated list of Coronavirus-related deaths, but the file actually contains a hidden piece of malware.

Whether you’re working from home or trying to stay in touch with loved ones, video conferencing apps like Zoom are becoming the new normal. Cybercriminals have exploited this type of application before, but their latest scam may be the trickiest yet.

During this storm of COVID-19 phishing scams, the bad guys love posing as your trusted Human Resources department. One recent HR scam started with an overdramatic subject line: “COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS WITHIN, BEWARE! WARNING!!!” In a mess of run-on sentences, the email claims that some of your co-workers have tested positive for Coronavirus. Keeping with the HR theme, they ask that you do not discriminate against these people and they suggest that “everyone should rather cease panic”.