Once someone goes to one of these pages, they are redirected to a fake Microsoft scanner that claims child pornography was found on their computer. The scammers are using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to place their fraudulent sites on Google’s search results page. Scammers are creating fake activation pages that they get indexed in Google to lure in victims. A fake Windows Defender scanner claims that “Access to this PC has been blocked for security reasons. Scammers are waiting for people to call in so they can impersonate Microsoft, remotely log into your computer and either make you send them money or steal directly from your bank account. Getting from the family-friendly Disney activation page to a very graphic alert is sure to get many victims to panic, even if they have done absolutely nothing wrong. However, Google search results can be laced with malicious ads or links to fraudulent pages. If there is a QR code to scan on your TV, you may want to use that instead (with caution) or maybe spend the extra few seconds it takes to type the full URL (making sure you don’t typo it!). A common way to activate digital subscriptions such as Netflix, Prime or Disney+ on a new TV is to visit a website and enter the code seen on your screen. One thing to be careful about is avoiding clicking anywhere else on the page, in particular buttons or images that may say something like “return to safety”. Despite the scary warning page, this is all a scam and you do not need to call the phone number shown on screen. September 27, 2024 - Researchers found a method to remotely take over any Kia with only the license plate number as a starting point. Want to stay informed on the latest news in cybersecurity? Sign up for our newsletter and learn how to protect your computer from threats. When interacting with the page, victims are automatically redirected to another site hosted on Microsoft Azure. September 26, 2024 - Mozilla has introduced a feature called Privacy Preserving Attribution and turned it on by default, much to the chagrin of a privacy watchdog. For more practical tips, check out this article on CNBC, in particular the “How to click without getting into online trouble” part. October 1, 2024 - The Data Protection Commission has fined Meta $101M because 600 million Facebook and Instagram passwords were stored in plaintext.
This Cyber News was published on www.malwarebytes.com. Publication date: Tue, 01 Oct 2024 22:13:06 +0000