Google claims it blocks 18 million malicious Covid-19 related scam emails every day as cyber-criminals try to capitalise on pandemic fear worldwide

The internet search engine giant claims its technology has “evolved to understand and filter these threats” and that they “are capable of blocking over 99.9 per cent of spam, phishing and malware” preventing them from reaching their users.

The company revealed “the phishing attacks and scams we are seeing use both fear and financial incentives to create urgency and try to incite users to respond.”

Google has revealed it is using sophisticated machine-learning technology to track more than 240 million coronavirus-related daily spam messages, which use a mix of Covid-19 fear and discounts and offers to get users to respond.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is seemingly one of the most impersonated authoritative government bodies.

To deal with potential phishing and malware-based emails, Google recommends users check the integrity of URLs before providing login credentials or clicking a link and using Gmail’s built-in document preview to avoid downloading unrecognised files.

The firm assures users it is also continuously monitoring and updating coronavirus-related malware and phishing threats, noting many of these threats are pre-existing and have simply been updated to take advantage of the pandemic.