New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS): In the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak in China and scare created worldwide thereafter, the World Health Organisation has asked people to be alert to phishing by criminals pretending to be from the world health body.

The WHO website has created a new section called 'Coronavirus scam alert' against criminals disguising themselves as WHO (officials) to steal money or sensitive information from gullible persons.

"The WHO is aware of suspicious email messages attempting to take advantage of the 2019 novel coronavirus emergency. This fraudulent action is called phishing. If you are contacted by a person or organization that appears to be from WHO, verify their authenticity before responding," the WHO said.

It also urged people to be careful while providing personal information and verify the sender by checking their email addresses.

"If there is anything other than 'who.int' after the '@' symbol, this sender is not from the WHO. The WHO does not send email from addresses ending in '@who.com' , '@who.org' or '@who-safety.org', for example."

The WHO urged people to report to authorities if they suspect a scam by just clicking 'Report a scam' or Contact WHO' on its official website.

"Cybercriminals use emergencies such as COVID-19 to get people to make decisions quickly. Always take time to think about a request for your personal information, and whether the request is appropriate" said the WHO.

The WHO told people to be acquainted with its norms while corresponding with the public.

"The World Health Organization will never ask you to login to view safety information, never email attachments you didn't ask for, never charge money to apply for a job, register for a conference, or reserve a hotel, never conduct lotteries or offer prizes, grants, certificates or funding through email. Beware that criminals use email, websites, phone calls, text messages, and even fax messages for their scams," read a WHO statement.