Another blow hit WhatsApp users. Taking advantage of the beginning of the payment of PIS-Pasep resources, which started last Monday (18th) across the country, hackers are distributing malicious links that would offer the possibility to check the balance to be received. About 116,000 people were affected in the past 24 hours alone, according to information from the PSafe dfndr lab.
In addition to messages on WhatsApp, the threat continues to gain scale through notifications sent to a base of users who have already crashed in previous scams. According to the cybersecurity lab, more than 100,000 people are part of the base that allowed the malicious content to be sent.
New scam repeats the same strategies of previous fraud in the messenger Photo: Carolina Ochsendorf / dnetc
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The dissemination method is similar to other scams that occurred in 2018. When clicking on the link in the notifications, users are directed to a page with a text that, supposedly, would be from Caixa Econmica Federal, indicating the release of the benefit. Salary PIS for those who worked between 2005 2018 in the amount of R $ 1,223.20, says the coup page.
After some personal questions, such as "Did you work with a formal contract between 2005 to 2018? Or Are you currently registered?", The fraud encourages the user to share with 30 friends or WhatsApp groups to finally finish the process and withdraw the value.
Domain used in this scam had already appeared in malicious campaigns of the past Photo: Divulgao / DFNDR Lab
dnetc contacted the dfndr lab regarding the domain used in this scam, ending in ".top", as it had appeared in other malicious campaigns in the past. The lab confirmed this information and added that it shows that the hacker has only changed the topic. As long as this domain is not blocked, it can still be used in new scams.
Scams have been recurring in the messenger
This case of PIS joins the several other blows that occurred this year. In May, about 50 thousand Brazilians were attracted by a false promise of free tickets for the movie "Avengers: Infinite War". In addition to answering personal questions, hackers still demanded that the content be shared with friends of the victim.
Recently, the truckers' strike was also used for fraud. A malicious link would supposedly show gas stations with fuel available for purchase – which actually led to paid sites and apps of dubious origin. Before that, another scam offered an official shirt of the Brazilian National Team to anyone who shared the message with up to 30 contacts.
Suspicious of promising solutions
To avoid falling for the recurring scams of WhatsApp, it is necessary to look carefully for links that promise unmissable offers, products or services. Alarmist news is also likely to be fraud. To better understand how to protect yourself, check out our definitive guide to not fall for Whatsapp.
There are also several applications that can assist in protection. Whoscall, for example, helps in detecting scams involving horoscope subscriptions, news and sports. For messengers, DFNDR security can be a good option. The app has an anti-phishing tool that detects suspicious content on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and even SMS.
Link redirects the user to a fraudulent page Photo: Divulgao / DFNDR Lab
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