Recently, our team exposed sophisticated scam kits designed to steal sensitive data and trick consumers. But underground marketplaces are not just for malware and stolen passwords. They also offer services designed to manipulate your opinion of the products and services you buy every day.
In our latest research, we examined cybercrime forums where sellers advertise illicit “reputation management” services. For the right price, these underground operators offer to flood a product with glowing, five-star ratings or remove negative reviews. This shadowy industry works both ways—artificially boosting reputations and deliberately hiding legitimate complaints.
A major shift we are seeing in this space is the adoption of new technology. We also found that cybercriminals are using AI to automate these fake review campaigns. This could allow them to quickly generate realistic, human-sounding feedback in large volumes without much manual effort.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Awaken Likho is awake: new techniques of an APT group
October 7, 2024
In July 2021, a campaign was launched primarily targeting Russian government agencies and industrial enterprises. Shortly after the campaign started, Kaspersky began tracking it, and published three reports in August and September 2024 through their threat research subscription on the threat actor they named Awaken Likho (also named by other vendors as Core Werewolf). While investigating ...
- DHS: Cyber Cops Stopped 500 Ransomware Hacks Since 2021
October 4, 2024
A cybercrime-focused division of the US Department of Homeland Security says it has disrupted more than 500 ransomware attacks and seized billions of dollars in cryptocurrency since 2021. The ongoing effort from Homeland Security Investigations, which investigates cybercrime and illicit transnational activity, involves proactively notifying government agencies, companies and other potential victims that an extortion event ...
- About a quarter million Comcast subscribers had their data stolen from debt collector
October 4, 2024
Comcast says data on 237,703 of its customers was in fact stolen in a cyberattack on a debt collector it was using, contrary to previous assurances it was given that it was unaffected by that intrusion. That collections agency, Financial Business and Consumer Solutions aka FBCS, was compromised in February, and according to a filing with ...
- Zimbabwe faces alarming rise in cyber attacks amid bank hacking
October 3, 2024
Zimbabwe has witnessed a significant surge in cyber attacks in recent months, with local entities, including banks, falling victim to hacking, the country’s Minister of Information Communication Technology, Tatenda Mavetera has revealed. Mavetera said the threat is also a local phenomenon, citing recent bank hacks in the country. Mavetera stated that cybercrime is not just a ...
- Threat Awareness – Shifting Phishing Techniques & Tips for Staying Safe
October 3, 2024
Phishing remains a significant and ever-evolving cybersecurity threat, with recent data showing a 28% rise in attacks between Q1 and Q2 of 2024. This trend highlights how persistent and evolving phishing tactics continue to be, impacting a staggering 94% of cybersecurity decision-makers in 2023. Attackers are increasingly using compromised internal accounts, shifting the platforms they ...
- Russian Authorities Arrest 96 in Major Money Laundering Operation
October 3, 2024
In a coordinated effort against cybercrime-related money laundering, Russian authorities have made nearly 100 arrests in connection with an extensive criminal operation involving cryptocurrency exchanges and illegal financial activities. The arrests were part of a nationwide crackdown tied to the UAPS payment system and the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchanges, both of which have been linked to cybercriminals ...