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:

  • Malware and ransomware gangs have found this new way to cover their tracks

    April 22, 2021

    Theres’s been a huge uptick in the proportion of malware using TLS or the Transport Layer Security to communicate without being spotted, cybersecurity firm Sophos reports. While HTTPS helps prevent eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and hijackers who try to impersonate a trusted website, the protocol has also offered cover for cybercriminals to privately share information between a ...

  • Tor-Based Botnet Malware Targets Linux Systems, Abuses Cloud Management Tools

    April 22, 2021

    The rise of threats that target Linux has dispelled the myth that there is no malware that goes after the ubiquitous operating system. As Linux attracts more attention from malicious actors, we have also started seeing threats evolving — abusing services like Ngrok and using functions to hunt and kill other competing malware. Most of the ...

  • Carbanak and FIN7 Attack Techniques

    April 20, 2021

    Constant monitoring of threat groups is one of the ways that security researchers and law enforcement agencies are able defend systems against cybercrime. Among these cybercriminals are financially motivated threat groups Carbanak and FIN7. Although both names have at times been used to refer to the same group, organizations such as MITRE identifies them as ...

  • Fake Microsoft Store, Spotify sites spread info-stealing malware

    April 20, 2021

    Attackers are promoting sites impersonating the Microsoft Store, Spotify, and an online document converter that distribute malware to steal credit cards and passwords saved in web browsers. The attack was discovered by cybersecurity firm ESET who issued a warning yesterday on Twitter to be on the lookout for the malicious campaign. In a conversation with Jiri Kropac, ...

  • Ransomware gang tries to extort Apple hours ahead of Spring Loaded event

    April 20, 2021

    The operators of the REvil ransomware are demanding that Apple pay a ransom demand to avoid having confidential information leaked on the dark web. The REvil crew claims it came into possession of Apple product data after breaching Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese company that is the biggest laptop manufacturer in the world and which is also ...

  • Just What The Cyber Doctors Ordered – OT For Pharmaceutical Companies

    April 20, 2021

    Several digital attacks against pharmaceutical companies have made news in the past few years. Back in 2017, for instance, Merck fell victim to NotPetya. The wiper malware spread to the pharmaceutical giant’s headquarters, rendered years of research inaccessible, affected various production facilities and caused $1.3 billion in damages, according to Bloomberg News. A couple of ...