A new type of scam by WhatsApp tries to attract victims with promises of shirts from the Brazilian soccer team as a gift.
The case, identified this past weekend, recalls previous fraud attempts, requesting that a message with a malicious link be passed between friends and family.
The fraud can be spread both by WhatsApp and by notifications in browsers for iPhone (iOS) and Android.
According to Kaspersky Lab, more than 2,500 people were affected in the first 24 hours alone.
Scam tries to deceive users with fake promotion shirt message from the national team – Photo: Viviane Werneck / dnetc
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The message is being disseminated by WhatsApp and also by notifications in browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, among others.
The misleading promotion offers a shirt from Brazil for those who share the message with 30 friends.
After clicking on the link, the victim is redirected to a fake campaign website.
In both cases, the user is redirected to a malicious page that requests the installation of an app.
These apps of dubious origin can bring adware, which starts to display advertisements on the device at any time.
Coup website is hosted in Russia – Photo: Disclosure / Kaspersky Lab
According to Kaspersky Lab, the fraud can go unnoticed by the less attentive users, since it is a fake website hosted in Russia, the country where the 2018 World Cup will take place.
One of the addresses used is «ru-promos.site «, domain already known in previous coup attempts.
Other coup attempts
WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps in the world, with about 1.5 billion active users per month.
In Brazil alone, there are more than 120 million.
At the same time, the platform has faced numerous scam attempts in recent months, with false Easter promotions and during Women’s Day.
With the World Cup approaching, criminals use the theme of the event in frauds, as in the case of the sticker album.
Recently, a coup attempt promised free movie tickets to anyone who shared links on their contact list.
To avoid these fraud attempts, it is important to always be aware of promotions offered in social network apps and with unknown links, even if sent by friends.
Another tip is to avoid disclosing sensitive data, such as credit cards and documents.
You can see the Definitive Guide to avoid falling into ambush on WhatsApp.
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