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:

  • Maze ransomware now encrypts via virtual machines to evade detection

    September 17, 2020

    The Maze ransomware operators have adopted a tactic previously used by the Ragnar Locker gang; to encrypt a computer from within a virtual machine. In May, we previously reported that Ragnar Locker was seen encrypting files through VirtualBox Windows XP virtual machines to bypass security software on the host. The virtual machine would mount a host’s drives ...

  • Mozi Botnet Accounts for Majority of IoT Traffic

    September 17, 2020

    The Mozi botnet, a peer-2-peer (P2P) malware known previously for taking over Netgear, D-Link and Huawei routers, has swollen in size to account for 90 percent of observed traffic flowing to and from all internet of things (IoT) devices, according to researchers. IBM X-Force noticed Mozi’s spike within it’s telemetry, amid a huge increase in overall ...

  • Alert issued to UK universities and colleges about spike in cyber attacks

    September 17, 2020

    British universities and colleges have been warned about a spike in ransomware attacks targeting the education sector by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ. Academic institutions are being urged to follow NCSC guidance following a sharp increase in attacks which have left some teachers fearing they won’t be able to accept ...

  • Cerberus banking Trojan source code released for free to cyberattackers

    September 16, 2020

    The source code of the Cerberus banking Trojan has been released as free malware on underground hacking forums following a failed auction. Speaking at Kaspersky NEXT 2020 on Wednesday, Kaspersky cybersecurity researcher Dmitry Galov said that the leaked code, distributed under the name Cerberus v2, presents an increased threat for smartphone users and the banking sector ...

  • New MrbMiner malware has infected thousands of MSSQL databases

    September 16, 2020

    A new malware gang has made a name for itself over the past few months by hacking into Microsoft SQL Servers (MSSQL) and installing a crypto-miner. Thousands of MSSQL databases have been infected so far, according to the cybersecurity arm of Chinese tech giant Tencent. In a report published earlier this month, Tencent Security has named this ...

  • Boosting Impact for Profit: Evolving Ransomware Techniques for Targeted Attacks

    September 15, 2020

    While more enterprises have adjusted to the new normal, so have cybercriminals who take advantage of the ever-changing work, home, and security landscape. As described in our 2020 Midyear Roundup, the numbers pertaining to ransomware no longer tell the story at first glance. While the number of infections, company disclosures, and ransomware families has gone ...