Shiny hunters, a hacking group, allegedly stole personal data, including email, phone numbers, hashed passwords and other details of nearly 20 million users of Big Basket in India (online grocery delivery service). There are several other similar instances where customer data was compromised. But what are we witnessing right in the middle of an epidemic in India is beyond white-collar crime by hackers. 

I recently received a phone call. The person on the other side was checking the health status of my family, who are battling COVID. After a minute of exchange, I asked him about his identity, to which he vaguely responded by saying, "wellness department working closely with health ministry", raising immediate concerns. A few more questions from my end resulted in him disconnecting the call. Yes, one of the labs we used for the RTPCR test either leaked/sold our data in the grey market or their system has been compromised/hacked.

Personal data of COVID (positive) patients has landed in the hands of fraudsters who are taking advantage of the COVID crisis and are making cold calls to try their luck - if a person is in dire need of oxygen or hospitalisation, they ask for immediate funds transfer through a digital wallet to book the oxygen cylinder or in the name of advance processing fees. Desperate family members don't think twice before making the transfer as it's a matter of life and death until they discover that they fell prey to a phishing attempt by a fraudster.

There are several other similar stories of how people using social media to seek help in these desperate times have been duped by the "Covid SOS Scammers". This probably isn't the best time to raise questions, but data privacy and data protection is an area that requires serious attention by the relevant stakeholders, but for now, tread with caution and DO NOT make an online transfer to anyone until you receive promised service.