The global panic in connection with the spread of the coronavirus was taken advantage of by scammers extorting cryptocurrency through a specially created application.

If earlier cybercriminals were distributing the desktop version of the software, presenting it as a tracker of the new coronavirus, today such applications are used by many owners of smartphones and tablets based on the Android OS.

Domain Tools, a cybersecurity company, has found a huge number of domain names mentioning Covid-19.

One of such resources is coronavirusapp [.] Site, upon switching to which the user is immediately prompted to download the application. When installing the application, the screen and functions of the gadget are locked, and to unlock the device, the scammers offer to pay in Bitcoin in the equivalent of $ 100 to their accounts.

CovidLock - the site offers to install the application, specifying that this software has a WHO certificate and, allegedly, is officially confirmed by the American CDC. According to experts, this application has been installed about 6 million times. The application arouses the users interest in that it supposedly guarantees timely notification of the presence of a coronavirus patient nearby. After the application is installed, the program will ask for permission for various actions, but after receiving the permission, the device screen will be locked.

Cyber ransomware continues to develop more and more new applications. According to statistics, in recent years they have been able to get about 150 million USD from naive users.