All the football fans out there, make sure you read this post! As the grand football event is just around the corner, scammers are fully pumped up to target you all. Regarding this matter, Symantec has already identified several email scams and they expect more scams are coming to target the fans on social networks. The scams will be in several forms such as free ticket scams, news service scams, and online streaming scams.
The most common scam and the easiest to fall is the free tickets scams. Who doesn’t want a free ticket, right? The scammers know the desire of fans very well that the email circulated are promising everything imaginable.
But hold your horses, think about it first. Email Symantec has identified a malicious zip file in the circulation emails. The zip file contains an executable file, which when it is executed, you will lose the control over your computer to a remote administration tool (RAT) known as DarkComet. To prevent this, Symantec has taken precaution measure against this malware by using a Backdoor.Breut detection. As you might not know what’s a Backdoor.Breut, here’s a brief explanation. Backdoor.Breut is a Trojan horse that opens up a back door on the compromised computer and records keystroke as well as download more files on the compromised computer.
Other than free ticket scams, news and highlight about World Cup teams and players is also one of the trick that scammer uses to lead you to open up malicious attachments or link in the email. Currently, emails about Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, a young star player in Brazilian national team are being circulated. According to Symantec, this email contains a malicious word document that will exploits a known vulnerability in Microsoft Word. Other bait that the scammers are using including famous players such as Argentinian national start, Lionel Messi, be it through email or social network services.
Online streaming is likely the trend today. Be aware of false World Cup live stream websites too! As Symantec has observed in the past, online streaming scams will arise on social networks when the World Cup starts. This has happened during the NBA finals, see here. These scams will claim to offer free live streaming of various matches especially the finals. You might be asked to fill in a survey or download and install a software before you are allowed to access the “free” service they provided. Always think before you do anything. These scams are just tricks to put money into the pockets of scammers.
To say no to these scams, Symantec offers several tools to protect you against this malware, including the Backdoor.Breut detection.
Here’s some tips from Symantec on how to protect yourself from scammers:
- If you receive an email or link on social network that offering free tickets to the World Cup, it is most probably a scam.
- Want to know more about your favourite World Cup teams or players? Always go to the official website.
- Online streaming? Live streams will be provided by ESPN for subscribers in US. As for UK, BBC will do the streaming. Check your local service providers for more information about online streaming.
- Always update the security updates for your operating system and software applications. The more updated, the more secured you are.
- Still feel insecure? Get an antivirus software for extra protection!
Stay safe online, everyone! We’ll keep you updated on more tips on what is there to avoid again!
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