Over the last few weeks we’ve seen an increase in fake vouchers being spread via WhatsApp. This scam has all the hallmarks of a global campaign.
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Tag Archives: Scams
FBI: Social Engineering, Hacks Lead to Millions Lost to Wire Fraud
U.S. businesses are losing millions in fraudulent wire transfers that have their root in email compromises of accounts belonging to top executives.
Support Scams, Malware and Mindgames without Frontiers
Introduction It might not have escaped your notice that I write quite a lot about support scams, an issue in which most commentators in the security industry take only sporadic interest and tend to regard as of only niche interest. (As when a scammer is damaging their brand or product in some way, for instance
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Phishing unravelled
Phishing may well be one of the oldest online scams in the world, but it’s also one of the most effective and commonly deployed. Here’s what to be aware of.
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Support Scammers and Self-Justification
Support scammers: old twisters, new twists, and scammer psychology.
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Microsoft advises ‘spoofed’ Skype users to change passwords
Skype users have been advised by Microsoft to change their passwords following reports that ‘spoofed’ messages are being sent without user permission.
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Searches for Pirated Content Lead to Pain and Little Gain
People love to try and get something for nothing, especially on the Internet where there’s all kinds of things available for nothing. But a lot of those free things are illegal and attackers have become very adept at taking advantage of users’ desire for free episodes of Gilmore Girls or bonus Dragon Ball Z content. Researchers […]
Weekend wrap-up: Cyber security news from Avast
Here’s your wrap up of security and privacy related news from the June 17 – 27 posts on the Avast blog:
It’s summertime in the Northern Hemisphere and many people are going on or planning their vacation. Beware of fake vacation packages and beautiful rental properties that are not as they seem. These Vacation scams can ruin your holiday, so read up before you become a victim.
More than 600 million Samsung phones were reported to be at risk because of a vulnerability found in the keyboard app SwiftKey. The best way to protect yourself is to use a virtual private network (VPN) when using an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. If you have a Samsung S6, S5, or S4, you need to read Samsung phones vulnerable to hacker attack via keyboard update.
As we learned from the Hola VPN service revelations, any old VPN service will not do. Hola was selling their users’ bandwidth and installing and running code on their devices without their knowledge or permission. Find out the details in Hola, Hola VPN users, you may have been part of a botnet!, and please share with an Hola user.
Mobile developer Martin Banas, attended Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Besides spending lots of time standing in lines, he enjoyed meeting other developers and hearing the latest news about OS X El Capitan and Apple Pay. Weren’t able to attend, bit wish you could have? Martin’s conference report, Looking back at WWDC 2015, describes the event.
Remember the iCloud celebrity photo hack? There have been many theories bandied about since nude photos of female celebrities were posted on the web. We add our own two cents into the conversation. Avast security researcher Philip Chytry explains what he thinks the origin and motivation behind the hack was in iCloud celebrity photo hack: What’s happening?!
Major cybercrooks taken down
While the cybercrooks behind the iCloud hack have not been discovered, authorities had big wins this past week in other areas. The author and distributor of Blackshades malware was sentenced to nearly five years in a New York prison. A major cybercriminal organization responsible for banking Trojans Zeus and SpyEye was taken down. Read Businessman hackers brought down in USA and Europe.
More from the Edward Snowden files. It was revealed this week that U.S. and U.K. spy agencies were attempting to reverse engineer major antivirus companies software, including Avast’s. CEO Vince Steckler spoke to RT News about government spying in the computer age. You can read the article, Avast CEO speaks out about U.S. and U.K. spy agencies, and watch the interview here.
And if the real world of cybercrime is not enough, our favorite new show of the summer Mr. Robot debuted on the USA Network this past week. We excitedly watched the first episode then talked to Avast security expert, Pedram Amini, to find out Are the hacks on Mr. Robot real? or just Hollywood magic.
Follow Avast on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ where we will keep you updated on cybersecurity news every day.
Phone Scams: Increasing Numbers, Wider Scope
There’s a lot more to phone scams than tech support, giving rise to an escalating number of complaints. Here’s what two recent reports tell us.
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Vacation scams can ruin your holiday
Do you dream of lounging with an umbrella drink on a sunny beach, hiking by a pristine lake in the cool mountains, or leisurely strolling through a world class museum? As you begin to make summer vacation plans, much of it planned and reserved via the Internet, here are a few scams to be aware of:
Fake vacation rentals
Private vacation rentals are growing in popularity and it’s easy to find one these days through portals like Airbnb, HomeAway, and Craigslist. A typical scam starts with attractive pictures of a property in a desired location. The phony landlord, who is really a scam artist, requires an up-front deposit on the rental that is typically sent by wire transfer. When the happy family arrives at the destination, it either doesn’t exist, it’s not at all like it was described, or it is not available for rental. It may even belong to someone else, who lives there and has no knowledge of the transaction.
How to protect yourself from vacation rental scams
Don’t be fooled by pretty pictures. Photoshop is amazing and an artist can do all kinds of tricks with it. Ask the property owner to send you additional photos. You can even look it up on Google’s Street View to make sure the property and address actually exists.
Use your credit card instead of cash to make any deposits. Cybercrooks prefer cash, so protect yourself by using your credit card. If you get in a jam, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express can help you recover money lost to fraud.
Fake vacation packages
“You’ve won a dream cruise to Bingo-Bongo Island!” A message like this may come to you via email or you may get a phone call from a hard-selling travel operator. Similar to the fake vacation rental, you are required to pay a deposit for your luxurious resort or cruise. When you arrive, you find out that the package was misrepresented and there are additional fees to be paid to get the “great deal.”
How to protect yourself from vacation package scams
Legitimate offers give you their cancellation and refund policy, along with details of the location of the vacation, the name of the cruise line or resort, the length of time you will be there, and contact information.
Get a confirmation or booking number from the cruise line, hotel, or airlines rather than the travel agency confirmation number. If the cruise line is not on your credit card statement, that is a warning flag.
Free airfare scams
Airfare is a big chunk of your vacation costs, so receiving a discount is welcome. But victims of airfare scams often find that after they pay they do not receive a confirmation or that their credit card has been declined. The only way to get the discount is to pay by wire transfer, which leaves the victim without a ticket and no way to claim a refund.
Social media scams, like this Southwest Airlines scam that has been going around Facebook for a few years, lure prospective travelers to malicious websites with sweepstakes offering free airline tickets. Victims are asked to complete online surveys which reveal personal information, and agree to hidden offers in the fine print of the contest. They are encouraged to share the scam which then gets sent to all their Facebook friends. This type of scam has been known to spread “lifejacking” malware as well. That gives a hacker control of your profile so viral messages are spread to your friend’s accounts.
How to protect yourself from free airfare scams
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t open unsolicited emails, take phone calls, or share social posts that offer a once-in-a-lifetime deal without first confirming it’s real.
