GCHQ calls on public to report coronavirus-related phishing emails

Intelligence agency launches service to counter growing number of online scams

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GCHQ is asking members of the public to report suspicious emails they have received amid a wave of scams and hacking attacks that seek to exploit fear of Covid-19 to enrich cybercriminals.

Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated - albeit more mildly - in subsequent flu pandemics.