The unsuspecting and unwary Facebook
users are being lured by cybercriminals with the promises of shiny gadgets.
These scammers took advantage of the time when everyone is looking out for last
minute deals ahead of Christmas. They are all over where they could defraud
busy Christmas shoppers, they were jumping on the bandwagon and offering free
gadgets and games on social networking sites in return for personal
information.
Kaspersky Lab has seen scammers trying to interest Facebook users
with pages on PlayStation 4 offers, and on new Apple iPhones and iPads during
the lead up to this festive period and there were even pages about an iPhone 8,
which doesn’t exist.
According to Kaspersky, despite the unofficial-looking
posts, many are falling for them and lending credence to the scam campaigns.
One supposed Christmas competition offering PlayStation 4 consoles had received
over 776 shares.
Kaspersky risk management projects Lab notifies public that
liking these false Facebook offers could leave them at risk of hacking and
malware.
“Scammers use numerous techniques to get people to give away
their Facebook logins. Clicking on an email link entitled ‘Facebook Christmas
Specials’, for example, could open a fake Facebook portal in which users are
required to enter their login details,” warned Kaspersky.
“As the interface appears identical to the real social media
platform, users don’t realise what’s happening. Once the victims have entered
their details, the hacker has their passwords. As most people tend to use the
same password for services such as eBay, Amazon and webmail, this can trigger a
dangerous chain reaction.”
Kaspersky said that social media users should never click
links that don’t come from trusted parties. Even if a link has been posted from
a friend they should still be wary, as that friend may have been hacked.
