The Elk River Police Department (ERPD) was recently made aware of an email scam surrounding COVID-19 which appeared to be distributed from the City of Elk River. The scam claims to be a “secure email from Cigna” and thanks the recipient for “purchasing Coronavirus insurance through Cigna” and invites them to click a link to view their invoice. The email appears to come from the sender “Covid Ahae” using the address Abuse@ElkRiverMN.gov.
The City of Elk River has distributed no such information, and along with ERPD encourages people to use vigilance and refrain from clicking on unknown links like this one, and many others. Email phishing scams tend to increase during certain times of year - tax season, holidays, and as this example demonstrates times of national/worldwide crisis. One tool to identify the validity of unfamiliar links, attachments, and URL’s is VirusTotal.com. The city is also continually updating a designated COVID-19 webpage on the city’s website as new information becomes available. Visit ElkRiverMN.gov/COVID19 to learn what the city is doing to proactively protect staff and residents, any related facilities closures and cancellations and more.