Scammers hijack websites of popular brands to insert fake phone number


Cybercriminals frequently use fake search engine listings to take advantage of our trust in popular brands, and then scam us. It often starts, as with so many attacks, with a sponsored search result on Google.

In the latest example of this type of scam, we found tech support scammers hijacking the results of people looking for 24/7 support for Apple, Bank of America, Facebook, HP, Microsoft, Netflix, and PayPal. Here’s how it works: Cybercriminals pay for a sponsored ad on Google pretending to be a major brand. Often, this ad leads people to a fake website. However, in the cases we recently found, the visitor is taken to the legitimate site with a small difference.

Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labz


Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.


Related:

  • IOCTA 2023: forget hackers in a hoodie, cybercrime has become a big business

    July 17, 2023

    Forget the cliché of a solitary figure in a hoodie hunched over a keyboard in a dark room crunching lines of codes. It is an image that no longer accurately reflects today’s cybercrime landscape, where criminals operate as business-like syndicates across borders. Europol’s ninth Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), whose first module is published today, ...

  • US energy department, other agencies hit in global hacking spree

    July 16, 2023

    The U.S. Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were hit in a global hacking campaign that exploited a vulnerability in widely used file-transfer software, officials said on Thursday. Data was “compromised” at two entities within the energy department when hackers gained access through a security flaw in MOVEit Transfer, the department said in a ...

  • Cyber attack hits South Korean government institution, $135,000 lost

    July 16, 2023

    According to Korean media reports, the Institute for Startup Promotion, operating under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, transferred 175 million won (135,000 USD) to an overseas criminal group after being tricked by a sophisticated e-mail phishing scheme. The unfortunate event serves as a stern reminder of the increasing need for enhanced cybersecurity measures in both ...

  • WormGPT, PoisonGPT: How generative AI can become a tool for criminals

    July 15, 2023

    A cybersecurity firm discovered a new generative artificial intelligence tool called WormGPT that is being sold to criminals. Another firm created a malicious generative AI tool called PoisonGPT to test how the technology can be used to intentionally spread fake news online. These tools are the latest examples of how generative AI can be used by ...

  • Victorian government documents released on dark web after cyber attack

    July 14, 2023

    Victorian government legal files have been released on the dark web by criminals after a major cyber attack on law firm HWL Ebsworth. Victoria’s Chief Information Security Officer David Cullen on Friday said HWL Ebsworth had confirmed government information had been posted. The law firm was hit by a cyber incident in late April when information ...

  • Cyber attack targets Libyan internet provider LTT

    July 13, 2023

    The Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC) said Wednesday that the data center of Libya Internet and Technology, the state-run internet provider, came under a cyber attack which led to disruption of services. In a statement, the LPTIC added that unknown attacker attempted to hack the data center but its cybersecurity team and LTT ...