In the second half of March while the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, a ransomware app called COVIDLock spread across Costa Rica, fueled by people’s fears of the unknown virus. The app claimed to prevent contagion by providing detailed interactive maps of the virus’ spread. Instead, app users found their devices hijacked, with demands for a ransom to be paid in bitcoin. Both individuals and companies were attacked. Even one of Costa Rica’s national banks had their alarm system tripped, which alerted the security minister of the cyberthreat.

Costa Rica’s public prosecutor for fraud and cybercrime, Miguel Lopez, quickly took to the airwaves in an attempt to warn citizens. He predicted that this wave of cybercrime had just begun, and the number and severity of malicious acts would only increase. His hunch came true in the first week of April. Judicial and banking authorities all across Costa Rica reported scams related to social services, unemployment benefits, and electronic tax payment.

Apparently the app pretends to notify you when a coronavirus-infected person is nearby, allegedly detected through a bogus heat-detection system. Most people now understand that the only way to definitively know if someone is COVID-19 positive is through lab testing. It is not known how many people have been scammed by this hack, which recently spread quickly throughout Latin America.

Once the app is installed, a bot blocks security code access to the device, be it a Smartphone or any device using an Android operational system. The app then demands a payment of $100 in bitcoin to free up your device. The payment buys you a password that unblocks the screen, and purportedly returns the device again to the owner’s control. If the hack victim fails to pay the fee within 48 hours, the app displays a message threatening to delete every file on your device: files, photos, contacts, videos, etc.

Victims have been caught without their computer security programs completely updated, or even installed. Much of the Costa Rica and other Latin American countries now have much of their workforces in quarantine, working from home, further exacerbating the security issues. The newspaper El Financiero has warned, “As the workforce in Latin America transitions to home offices, more and more individuals will be targeted due to lack of cybersecurity protection. Retail and financial sectors will probably be the most targeted.”

Costa Rica is by no means alone in the fight against cybercrimes. Colombia has reported almost 200 complaints of cyber-fraud recently. Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico have cybercriminals promising COVID-19 tests and vaccines, and even promising government stimulus money for those affected by COVID-19.

The threatening message from COVIDLock reads: “Your GPS is being monitored and your location is known. If you try to do something stupid, the information on your device will be automatically deleted.”

Here’s what you can do to avoid these scams: Never pay hackers. Always download/update antivirus programs. Never download apps or access links that have been shared on social media, Facebook, etc.
If you need help, call 1-800-8000-645, and a bilingual assistant will help you.

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