Select Page

Staying Safe Online During COVID-19 Crisis

Staying safe online

The current COVID-19 crisis is one we face together with care, collaboration, and creativity. The following information will help guard your family against criminal activity and provide resources and how to report crimes while your family is online during the current shelter-in-place.

Please continue to exercise smarter cyber hygiene in this uncertain time. Be aware that cybercriminals may exploit concerns surrounding COVID-19 to perpetuate scams designed to steal your money.

Please remember the following four tips to protect yourself and help stop this criminal activity:

  1. Do not open attachments or click links within emails from senders you don’t recognize
  2. Always verify the information being shared originates from a legitimate source
  3. Do not provide your logins, financial data, or other personal information in response to an email
  4. Visit websites by manually inputting their domains to your browser

Keeping Children Safe While Online:

Due to the suspension or cancellation of schools and classes, many children are now spending more time on internet-connected devices. This can expose our children to criminals who exploit the anonymity of internet-based communication. Measures to prevent child exploitation and the signs of abuse are found on this webpage: https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/school-closings-due-to-covid-19-present-potential-for-increased-risk-of-child-exploitation

Fraud:

Fraud is a perpetual concern for the DA’s Office, but criminals often leverage the opportunities crises present to take advantage of the concerns and fears of our residents. There are investment schemes tied to alleged COVID-19 cures, fraudulent products, and charitable donation scams. Always do significant research to ensure charities are legitimate, ensure contact information or web addresses you are receiving are accurate, and steer clear of investment schemes that claim a high rate of return during these challenging times.

To Report:

To report scams and fraud please submit a report on Yolo County District Attorney’s fraud reporting webpage here: https://yoloda.org/fraud-reporting/ or call the DA’s fraud hotline at 1-855-4-YOLO-DA. To report cybercrime or concerns about child exploitation to your local police department or call the DA’s office at 530-666-8416.

Resources: