In a press conference on Saturday, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley warned the residents that hackers are trying to get into their computers by sending fraudulent emails, taking advantage of Hurricane Matthew´s damage to the state.
Emails disguised as help for hurricane information
As reported by Daily Mail, the hackers send an email with a link to provide updates on power outages brought by Hurricane Matthew in Manning, Myrtle Beach and Clarendon County. Once the receiver clicks on the link, it will open their computers to hackers so they can get any information they want.
"They started to receive some calls that this was happening, and what they saw a hacker that was trying to get into normal emails and so it was just precautionary to make sure that we got the word out," said Governor Haley.
Also, she said that one of the most effectives ways to prevent this problem is to know how to recognize scam emails and sender, so the person can delete it.
Using Hurricane Matthew for criminal purposes
Cybercrime is known to take advantage of calamities and other crisis situation, and this holds true for Hurricane Matthew and the residents of South Carolina.
"Any time you see anything that's of semi national significance that affects a lot of people, it is really easy to craft something quickly to get it out there, it's evolving more and more rapidly because there is more and more money to be made. This is a lot easier to fall for, it is something that you are actually looking for, something that you want and something you may have already researched, there's a lot of money to be made there and it's easy, it costs them nothing to hack your computer that way and email," Doug Cone, a web consulting firm ownner, told WSPA.
