Fake “ mods ” for Minecraft , the wildly popular pixelated sandbox game for kids , have turned up in Google Play . Mods , short for modifications , are add-ons for games that change the functionality or add additional levels or features . There are many , many legitimate mods out there for all kinds of games , including Minecraft . But in this case , a bevy rogue apps offer more sinister changes . Android gamers that fall for them will find themselves bombarded with aggressive ads and scam activity , according to ESET . ESET said that players have been exposed to 87 fake mods , and up to 990,000 users have installed them . These fall into two buckets : Ad-displaying downloaders ( there are so far 14 of these that ESET has uncovered , with 80,000 installs and counting ) , and fake apps redirecting users to scam websites ( 73 apps and 910,000 installs ) . The downloaders are for now merely plying unfortunate users with in-your-face ads . But that could easily change . “ Since [ this ] is able to download any sort of additional malware to the victim ’ s device , there is no reason to believe malware authors would stop at only displaying unwanted ads , ” researchers noted . “ Seeing they can lure Attack.Phishing thousands of users into installing their deceptive applications , more dangerous threats distributed under similar disguise might be the next logical step. ” As for the latter , “ once launched , the apps display a screen with a download button , ” ESET researchers said . “ Clicking the button does not download any mods ; instead , it redirects the user to a website opened in a browser and displays all kinds of obtrusive content. ” In terms of how to tell the mod from the con , reviews are , as usual , a handy barometer : The downloader versions for instance are spamming victims with ads , so poor reviews are the norm . Mobile security products should also detect the malicious apps prior to download . This isn ’ t the first time the bad guys have targeted Minecraft—it is , after all , a pop culture phenomenon for elementary school kids and tweens . In 2015 , ESET researchers discovered more than 30 fake applications in Google Play , which pretended to be Attack.Phishing cheats for the popular world-building-with-pixels game . And in 2014 , a trojanized version of the Android Minecraft PE app was found being sold at half the official price through third party Russian app stores . To clean a device of the downloaders , ESET said that users must first deactivate device administrator rights for both the app and the downloaded module ( found under Settings - > Security - > Device administrators ) . Then , users can uninstall the apps by going to Settings - > Application Manager . For the scam app , victims can just uninstall the app in Settings - > Application Manager .

Hacker group “ Charming Kitten ” used false identities to ferret out information , says Israel-based cybersecurity firm ClearSky An Iranian cyber espionage group known as Charming Kitten is believed to be behind a campaign targeting academic researchers , human rights activists , media outlets and political advisors focusing on Iran , according to a report published earlier this week by Israel-based threat intelligence company ClearSky Cyber Security . The group has also set up Attack.Phishing a news outlet called The British News Agency to lure Attack.Phishing targets in . Most of the group 's targets are in Iran , the U.S. , Israel and the U.K. , the report said , but some come from countries including France , Germany , Switzerland , Denmark , India , Turkey and the United Arab Emirates . The report detailed the various methods used to gain access Attack.Databreach to computers and private social accounts . Those include false identities , the impersonation Attack.Phishing of real companies , the insertion of malicious code into a breached website , also known as `` watering hole attacks , '' and spear phishing Attack.Phishing , the process of pretending to be Attack.Phishing service providers like Gmail or Facebook to trick Attack.Phishing people into giving out personal information . A significant mainstay of the group 's activity was the establishment of a media outlet called The British News Agency . Much effort went into creating Attack.Phishing a seemingly legitimate website , including details about the agency and a contact list of the management team . The purpose of the site was to attract Attack.Phishing the targets and infect them with malware . According to the report , multiple Israeli researchers of Iran and the Middle East were sent Attack.Phishing emails and Twitter direct messages from accounts registered with seemingly Jewish Israeli names . Messages coming from Attack.Phishing one such account were presented as if coming from Attack.Phishing a journalist and political researcher at KNBC News . Other messages were presented as if coming from Attack.Phishing an Israeli political researcher raised in California who needed help with an article and also wanted to apply for a position at an Israeli university . Another message was described as coming from Attack.Phishing a Jewish girl living in Iran . These messages often linked to phishing pages . ClearSky can not estimate how many accounts were successfully infiltrated , but the success rate for such attacks is usually around 10 % , said Mr. Dolev .

Saudi Arabian security officials said on Monday that the country had been targeted as part of a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign observed since February against five Middle East nations as well as several countries outside the region . The Saudi government ’ s National Cyber Security Center ( NCSC ) said in a statement the kingdom had been hit by a hacking campaign bearing the technical hallmarks of an attack group dubbed “ MuddyWater ” by U.S. cyber firm Palo Alto Networks . Palo Alto ’ s Unit 42 threat research unit published a report last Friday showing how a string of connected attacks Attack.Phishing this year used decoy documents with official-looking government logos to lure Attack.Phishing unsuspecting users from targeted organizations to download infected documents and compromise their computer networks . Documents pretending to be Attack.Phishing from the U.S.National Security Agency , Iraqi intelligence , Russian security firm Kaspersky and the Kurdistan regional government were among those used to trick Attack.Phishing victims , Unit 42 said in a blog post ( goo.gl/SvwrXv ) . The Unit 42 researchers said the attacks Attack.Phishing had targeted organizations in Saudi Arabia , Iraq , the United Arab Emirates , Turkey and Israel , as well as entities outside the Middle East in Georgia , India , Pakistan and the United States . The Saudi security agency said in its own statement that the attacks Attack.Databreach sought to steal Attack.Databreach data from computers using email phishing techniques targeting the credentials of specific users . The NCSC said they also comprised so-called “ watering hole ” attacks , which seek to trick Attack.Phishing users to click on infected web links to seize control of their machines . The technical indicators supplied by Unit 42 are the same as those described by the NCSC as being involved in attacks against Saudi Arabia . The NCSC said the attacks appeared to be by an “ advanced persistent threat ” ( APT ) group - cyber jargon typically used to describe state-backed espionage . Saudi Arabia has been the target of frequent cyber attacks , including the “ Shamoon ” virus , which cripples computers by wiping their disks and has hit both government ministries and petrochemical firms . Saudi Aramco , the world ’ s largest oil company , was hit by an early version of the “ Shamoon ” virus in 2012 , in the country ’ s worst cyber attack to date . The NCSC declined further comment on the source of the attack or on which organizations or agencies were targeted . Unit 42 said it was unable to identify the attack group or its aims and did not have enough data to conclude that the MuddyWater group was behind the Saudi attacks as outlined by NCSC . “ We can not confirm that the NCSC posting and our MuddyWater research are in fact related , ” Christopher Budd , a Unit 42 manager told Reuters . “ There ’ s just not enough information to make that connection with an appropriate level of certainty. ” Palo Alto Networks said the files it had uncovered were almost identical to information-stealing documents disguised as Attack.Phishing Microsoft Word files and found to be targeting the Saudi government by security firm MalwareBytes in a September report .

Cybercriminals prey on naivety , and a new scam campaign that attempts to trick Attack.Phishing people into providing bank details to pay for a fake WhatsApp subscription does just that . WhatsApp did once charge a subscription fee of $ 0.99/£0.99 , but stopped the practice in January 2016 . However , the fraudsters behind this latest scam are looking to take advantage of the fact WhatsApp -- which has over a billion users -- did once rely on a subscription service to dupe Attack.Phishing victims into handing over their banking information . The UK 's fraud and cybercrime centre Action Fraud and the City of London police have issued a warning about the campaign . Emails purporting to be Attack.Phishing from 'The WhatsApp Team ' claim that `` your subscription will be ending soon '' and that in order to continue to use the service , you need to update your payment information . Victims are encouraged to sign into a 'customer portal ' with their number and to enter payment information . Naturally , this is a scam -- with spelling errors in the text a huge giveaway -- and all the victims are doing is providing criminals with their financial details . Criminals could use these to simply make purchases or as a basis for further fraud . Scammers have also been known to use text messages in an effort to dupe Attack.Phishing victims into paying for a fake subscription . Those who receive Attack.Phishing the email are urged not to click on any of the links , but to instead report it to the police . Action Fraud also offers advice to those who have already fallen for the scam , telling victims to `` run antivirus software to ensure your device has not been infected with malware '' . Scammers often attempt to lure Attack.Phishing victims into handing over their credit card information -- or installing malware onto their machines -- often with authentic-looking phishing emails claiming to be from Attack.Phishing real companies . Previously , Action Fraud has warned about scammers attempting to steal Attack.Databreach credentials from university staff with fake emails about a pay rise , while police have also issued a warning about cybercriminals attempting to infect people with banking malware using emails that pretend to be Attack.Phishing from a charity .

If you sell items online , beware scammers who are hacking into websites and taking over real users ' accounts . Casundra Venable told FOX59 she has sold on eBay for five years with no problems , but recently she fell victim to a scam . Venable was selling a Samsung phone with accessories on the website . Her sale closed , she received a $ 227 payment , and then a message that she thought was from the buyer . `` Thanks so much for ( an ) interesting auction . It was hard to choose the present for my friend . I think my friend will love this , '' Venable said , reading the message . The writer sent her supposed friend 's address , and Venable sent the package to that address . A few days later , she received a message from eBay saying the buyer had not received the package . It was then that she realized the message had been a fake . `` I thought , you know , 'How stupid ( was I ) for doing it ? '' Venable said . Venable said she was on the lookout for scams , but only those that come from people outside the eBay website . She assumed that because the message came through a real account , it was legitimate . It turns out , the scammer hacked into a real user 's account and used it to find a closing sale , then pretended to be Attack.Phishing the buyer . `` If they ask you to send it somewhere besides their registered address , say no , '' Venable said . FOX59 spoke with the Better Business Bureau 's Tim Maniscalo , who said that while he had not heard of this specific type of eBay scam , it did n't surprise him . `` Well over 50 percent of the scams ( we see ) now are perpetrated in some way , shape , or form through the internet , '' Maniscalo said . Venable tried to get her package back , but she could not get it from the warehouse in Brooklyn , New York where it ended up . `` ( A man on the phone ) said it ’ s off to the country of Georgia , '' Venable said . An eBay spokesperson confirmed this scam to FOX59 , saying a hacker was involved . The company also sent an alert to Venable , but it was too late . The spokesperson sent this statement : `` This incident was a scam and was the result of an unauthorized takeover of another user ’ s account . Unfortunately , scam artists will gain access Attack.Databreach to eBay member accounts through phishing emails in order to defraud other members . Criminals often exploit well-known , trusted brand names like eBay to attract Attack.Phishing consumers and then lure Attack.Phishing them into fraudulent transactions . We always encourage all our shoppers to be cautious and vigilant when executing a transaction on eBay . Members can prevent account takeovers from occurring by having frequent virus and spyware scans done on their account , regularly updating their passwords , and confirming a message was sent by eBay by checking their “ My Messages ” within their eBay account . ''

Hacking has long been thought of as a sort of black magic whose incantations are made using keyboards . That is , until 2016 , when the John Podesta email hack made big enough news that hackers ’ dirty secret got out : many breaches have less to do with coding skills and much more to do with classic trickery , albeit in digital form . Web users simply get duped Attack.Phishing into entering their username and passwords onto fake websites . With that information , it doesn ’ t take any special cleverness to hack a system . The attacker has the keys . The chief tool hackers use to lure Attack.Phishing unsuspecting people to these phony websites is email . When the victim works at a company of some kind , those credentials might provide cyber-criminals with access to more than just email . The same credentials might also provide access to intranets , servers and sensitive data . Executives are looking hard for ways to protect their operations today without cramping employee productivity . One method many might be looking at is virtual machines , workspaces that run software on the cloud but looks to the user just like a normal desktop . As counter-measures go , muckraking news outlet The Intercept has sung its praises . As it happens , Amazon Web Services announced a new offer on its blog Thursday—40 hours of virtual machinery free to users and companies that might want to try it out . Windows 7 and Windows 10 experiences are available . Working inside a window into the cloud protects physical devices from evil code a user might get tricked into initializing . Called WorkSpaces , it can give staff access to all of a company ’ s data and tools from anywhere . If an employee is working from home and gets hit Attack.Ransom by ransomware , it encrypts everything on the hard drive and demands payment Attack.Ransom in bitcoin to set data free . If the ransomware got run on the employee ’ s actual machine , all the music , photos and personal documents stored there would be locked up too . On a virtual machine , though , only the virtual device gets hit . All that personal data stays safe . If a user clicks on a link in a malicious email and accepts a prompt to enter their user name and password on a phony website , there is nothing about a virtual machine that will prevent that information from getting lost . That ’ s why it ’ s good for companies to have more robust sign-ons , such as using two-factor authentication . More sophisticated hackers might try to get specific credentials for high level employees in order to impersonate them digitally . For example , an attacker could send Attack.Phishing an email from an executive ’ s email address , Jakobsson explained , directing bookkeepers to wire money to a specific account for phony services , Jakobsson explained . The FBI has estimated that such scams have cost companies $ 5 billion over the last few years . A virtual machine can ’ t prevent that trick . Carbon Black delivers security services over the crowd , spotting attacks and detecting intruders . “ The majority of leading cybersecurity researchers are not yet ready to give all the power to the machines just yet , ” Rick McElroy , a security strategist there wrote the Observer , via a spokesperson . “ User awareness and education continue to major best practices when it comes to defending against phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . Computers will help , but not yet replace , human decision making. ” Desktop-as-a-service systems like WorkSpaces can turn clunky computers into lean , mean , totally updated machines . They might even be digital Sir Lancelot ’ s , protecting companies ’ IT castles well , but one knight won ’ t be enough—firms will still need a full roundtable .

A flaw in Safari – that allows an attacker to spoof Attack.Phishing websites and trick Attack.Phishing victims into handing over their credentials – has yet to be patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . A browser address bar spoofing flaw was found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by researchers this week in Safari – and Apple has yet issue Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a patch for the flaw . Researcher Rafay Baloch on Monday disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability two proof-of-concepts revealing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability how vulnerabilities in Edge browser 42.17134.1.0 and Safari iOS 11.3.1 could be abused to manipulate the browsers ’ address bars , tricking victims into thinking they are visiting a legitimate website . Baloch told Threatpost Wednesday that Apple has promised to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the flaw in its next security update for Safari . “ Apple has told [ me ] that the latest beta of iOS 12 also addresses Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issue , however they haven ’ t provided any dates , ” he said . Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Threatpost . Microsoft for its part has fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the vulnerability Baloch found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the Edge browser , ( CVE-2018-8383 ) in its August Patch Tuesday release . According to Microsoft ’ s vulnerability advisory released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability August 14 , the spoofing flaw exists because Edge does not properly parse HTTP content . Both flaws stem from the Edge and Safari browsers allowing JavaScript to update the address bar while the page is still loading . This means that an attacker could request data from a non-existent port and , due to the delay induced by the setInterval function , trigger the address bar spoofing . The browser would then preserve the address bar and load the content from the spoofed page , Baloch said in his blog breaking down both vulnerabilities . From there , the attacker could spoof Attack.Phishing the website , using it to lure Attack.Phishing in victims and potentially gather credentials or spread malware . For instance , the attacker could send Attack.Phishing an email message containing the specially crafted URL to the user , convince the user to click it , and take them to the link which could gather their credentials or sensitive information . “ As per Google , Address bar is the only reliable indicator for ensuring the identity of the website , if the Address bar points to Facebook.com and the content is hosted on attacker ’ s website , there is no reason why someone would not fall for this , ” Baloch told Threatpost . In a video demonstration , Baloch showed how he could visit a link for the vulnerable browser on Edge ( http : //sh3ifu [ . ] com/bt/Edge-Spoof.html ) , which would take him to a site purporting to be Attack.Phishing Gmail login . However , while the URL points to a Gmail address , the content is hosted on sh3ifu.com , said Baloch . The Safari proof-of-concept is similar , except for one constraint where it does not allow users to type their information into the input boxes while the page is in a loading state . However , Bolach said he was able to circumvent this restriction by injecting a fake keyboard using Javascript – a common practice in banking sites . No other browsers – including Chrome or Firefox – were discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to have the flaw , said Baloch . Baloch is known for discovering Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability similar vulnerabilities in Chrome , Firefox and other major browsers in 2016 , which also allowed attackers to spoof URLs in the address bar . The vulnerabilities were disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to both Microsoft and Apple and Baloch gave both a 90-day deadline before he went public Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability with the flaws . Due to the Safari browser bug being unpatched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , Baloch said he has not yet released a Proof of Concept : “ However considering there is a slight difference between the Edge browser POC and Safari , anyone with decent knowledge of Javascript can make it work on Safari , ” he told us .

Nigerian scamsters have changed tactics as they target Indian people online , security experts have warned . The fraudsters are no longer relying on phishing emails about lotteries and charity as bait Attack.Phishing , but are duping Attack.Phishing people on the pretext of partnering with MNCs ( multinational companies ) , investing in herbal seed businesses and channelising foreign funds . According to security agencies , there is a complete shift in the modus operandi of these Nigerian web gangs . A senior Delhi Police Crime Branch officer said : 'The scamsters lure Attack.Phishing gullible targets via social networking sites such as Facebook . 'They then pose as Attack.Phishing diplomats or MNC executives and entice Attack.Phishing their targets to invest in a global venture , which actually does not exist . 'Interestingly , all dealings are done at high-secured areas such as airport and five-star hotels to give an impression of being high-flyers and avoid the risk of getting into trouble . ' 'There is no fixed narrative . Depending upon the profile of the target , the gang traps them . In the herbal seeds scam , the victim is approached online as a representative of an overseas pharmaceutical firm looking to source herbal seeds from local farmers through an agent . They promise the victim huge returns if they pay the agent upfront for the seeds . Then they disappear with the money , ' said Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force 's additional superintendent of police Triveni Singh . One of the latest victims is Meerut 's Varun Thapar , who lost Rs 3 lakh to a Nigerian gang . Thapar went to meet the gang members at a five star hotel in Mumbai and Delhi . He told Mail Today : 'The gang members contact through their international number or makes a WhatsApp call . The gang sounds so professional that it is difficult to make out that they are fraud . ' I was trapped after getting a friend request from a Manchester-based female executive . I was given seed sample in Mumbai and later duped at a five-star hotel in Delhi . The trap was so perfect that I could not sense any foul play . ' During investigation , it was found that all the numbers used for communication were taken on fake identities . Police claim the gangs have developed a new trick Attack.Phishing , where they pose as Attack.Phishing diplomat or MNC executive and work in nexus with a local youth who helps them with logistics .

An email scam Attack.Phishing passing as a Netflix notification has been targeting subscribers of the streaming service . The “ suspension notification ” looks similar in design and format to other Netflix emails . It notifies and urges users to update their information to avoid the suspension of their account . The goal of the scam Attack.Phishing is to steal personal and credit card information , according to a report from Mailguard . The email contains a link to a fake Netflix website where users are required to enter log-in information and a credit card number . The faux website has the Netflix logo on display plus The Crown and House of Cards banners to further trick Attack.Phishing visitors . In a stament sent to EW , a Netflix spokesperson assured subscribers that the company takes the “ security of our members ’ accounts seriously , ” also stating that these type of scams aren ’ t uncommon : “ Netflix employs numerous proactive measures to detect fraudulent activity to keep the Netflix service and our members ’ accounts secure . Unfortunately , these scams Attack.Phishing are common on the internet and target popular brands such as Netflix and other companies with large customer bases to lure Attack.Phishing users into giving out personal information. ” According to Mailguard ’ s report , the scam has targeted almost 110 million subscribers . One important thing to note is that the email ’ s recipient appears as “ no sender , ” plus the victim ’ s name appears as “ # name # , ” as shown in the screenshot . Netflix customers who receive this email are advised to abstain from filling out any information prompted by the website . Netflix ’ s spokesperson also suggested that members of the streaming service visit netflix.com/security or contact Customer Service directly to learn more information about scams and other malicious activity .

One needs to be always aware of Tax Scams , including tax refund scams , which are carried out by scamsters who pretend to be Attack.Phishing from the IRS of USA , HMRC of UK , CRA of Canada , Income Tax Department of India and such . Scamsters contact Attack.Phishing you via fake emails , phone calls , recorded message , SMS , etc , and either scare you with the possibility of some legal action or entice Attack.Phishing you with a tax refund ! Every tax season , Tax Scams start doing the rounds . Emails , Phone calls , or recorded messages by cybercriminals impersonating Attack.Phishing authentic tax agents have become an order of the day and continue to remain a major threat to taxpayers . The scam artists use sinister designs that threaten police arrest , deportation , and even license revocation . With the increases in its popularity , fraudsters are also busy finding more ways to increase efficiency . Earlier , the major targets were elderly people and immigrant population . Slowly , the focus has shifted to methods that rely on auto-dialers , robocalling , and voice mail messages to hit as many taxpayers as possible . The story begins with an automated call . It plays a recorded message warning you that it ’ s “ the final notice ” from the tax agency such as the Internal Revenue Service , Indian Income Tax Department , HM Revenue and Customs , or the Tax department of your country . Or it could begin with an email . In any case , the recorded voice or email purports to be Attack.Phishing from tax inspector and goes on to specify about the course of action , the agency is likely to follow against you like , planning a lawsuit against you , and if you don ’ t return this call , you could land up in jail , soon . Attacks , such as these use fear as bait Attack.Phishing or the lure Attack.Phishing of a tax refund on the other hand . They rely on social engineering tactics . One such message tells recipients that there ’ s a pending law enforcement action against them as they have evaded tax . It is mainly used to target U.S. taxpayers . The scam pretends to contain information about a subpoena . It could contain a web link which it wants you to click . The link could take you to a fraudulent website . Or the email could include an attachment . The file is a “ document file ” that Microsoft Word opens in Protected View . It contains an instruction to Enable Editing . If the Enable Editing button is clicked , malicious Macros in the ‘ document ’ downloads a malware . So one needs to always exercise utmost caution in either of the cases .

Biggest case involved woman who lost HK $ 119,000 in 24 hours after being conned into buying more than 50 points cards for online games . A woman who lost HK $ 119,000 in 24 hours was among almost 250 people duped out Attack.Phishing of about HK $ 1.9 million ( US $ 242,000 ) in a WhatsApp scam Attack.Phishing in Hong Kong this year , police said on Wednesday . According to police , swindlers pretended to be Attack.Phishing friends of WhatsApp users and invented different excuses to lure Attack.Phishing them into revealing their account verification codes . The con men then accessed the accounts with the codes and , posing as Attack.Phishing the users , sent Attack.Phishing text messages to deceive Attack.Phishing the account holders ’ contacts . Mohammed said genuine account holders were unable to use WhatsApp at least 12 hours after their accounts were hijacked . “ All the scam victims were asked to buy MyCard points cards for online games , ” he said . MyCard is a digital payment platform . Users can buy credit to spend on the platform from convenience stores across the city , Mohammed said . After getting passwords for the cards , scammers sold them online . Police said the age range of the victims was between 17 and 72 and losses went from a few hundred dollars to thousands . No arrests had been made . The Post reported in February that officers believed fraudsters from Taiwan were behind the scam because the points cards they requested were used for the Taiwanese versions of online games . Police advised residents to safeguard their personal data and verify the identity of those who contact them . If in doubt , people should call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 18222 . In the first three months of this year , there were 270 reports of deception through instant messaging platforms , accounting for HK $ 2.6 million in losses . That exceeds the figure for the whole of last year , when there were 266 cases , in which scammers bagged HK $ 2.1 million .

SCAMMERS are using fake websites to lure Attack.Phishing in Cyber Monday and Christmas shoppers and take their money . Be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers on Fingerlings toys , iPhones and fashion as they 're the most common items sold by fraudsters , according to the City of London Police . With shoppers set to spend £2.96billion by the end of Cyber Monday , fraud experts have warned that scammers will tempt Attack.Phishing shoppers with suspiciously good deals so they buy their counterfeit items and hand over their card details . They 'll also set up Attack.Phishing fake websites that look like Attack.Phishing genuine retailers to trick Attack.Phishing people into giving away their data and payment details , according to a new report by Action Fraud and the City of London Police . Phishing emails containing tempting deals which entice Attack.Phishing shoppers to click on links to fake websites are also on the rise on Cyber Monday and over the Christmas period , the report said . Scammers are using social media websites such as Facebook , re-selling websites such as Gumtree and online auction websites such as eBay to target Christmas shoppers , experts revealed . Mobile phones - particularly Apple iPhones - are the most common item that people try to buy from fraudsters , according to the report . Seventy-four per cent of all mobiles bought from fraudsters were iPhones , the study said . Electrical and household items , computers , fashion and accessories are also commonly sold to fraud victims , including Apple MacBooks , Ugg boots and Fingerlings toys - so be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers for these items . Women aged between 20 and 29 are the most likely to be caught out by scammers , according to the report , with 30 per cent of fraud reports coming from young women . But the police have warned that everyone should stay on their guard as anyone can fall victim to Christmas shopping fraudsters . More than 15,000 shoppers lost a total of £11million to scammers over the Christmas period last year . Detective Chief Superintendent Pete O ’ Doherty , of the City of London Police , said : “ Unfortunately , at what is an expensive time of year for many , the internet has provided fraudsters with a platform to lure Attack.Phishing people in with the promise of cheap deals . He added : “ To stop fraudsters in their tracks , be cautious of where and from whom you ’ re buying , especially if it is technology at a reduced price . '' Tony Neate , CEO of Get Safe Online , a free fraud awareness website , said : “ It can be easy to rush into making a quick purchase online to secure a must have gift or bargain without taking the time to check that everything is as it seems . “ But taking a couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with a few simple online safety tips can be the difference between getting all your shopping done in time and becoming a victim of online fraud . '' There are plenty of Black Friday and Cyber Monday scams around at the moment - we 've revealed the latest tricks used by fraudsters . Meanwhile scammers claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Tesco are running a fake competition in an attempt to steal your bank details .

SCAMMERS are using fake websites to lure Attack.Phishing in Cyber Monday and Christmas shoppers and take their money . Be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers on Fingerlings toys , iPhones and fashion as they 're the most common items sold by fraudsters , according to the City of London Police . With shoppers set to spend £2.96billion by the end of Cyber Monday , fraud experts have warned that scammers will tempt Attack.Phishing shoppers with suspiciously good deals so they buy their counterfeit items and hand over their card details . They 'll also set up Attack.Phishing fake websites that look like Attack.Phishing genuine retailers to trick Attack.Phishing people into giving away their data and payment details , according to a new report by Action Fraud and the City of London Police . Phishing emails containing tempting deals which entice Attack.Phishing shoppers to click on links to fake websites are also on the rise on Cyber Monday and over the Christmas period , the report said . Scammers are using social media websites such as Facebook , re-selling websites such as Gumtree and online auction websites such as eBay to target Christmas shoppers , experts revealed . Mobile phones - particularly Apple iPhones - are the most common item that people try to buy from fraudsters , according to the report . Seventy-four per cent of all mobiles bought from fraudsters were iPhones , the study said . Electrical and household items , computers , fashion and accessories are also commonly sold to fraud victims , including Apple MacBooks , Ugg boots and Fingerlings toys - so be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers for these items . Women aged between 20 and 29 are the most likely to be caught out by scammers , according to the report , with 30 per cent of fraud reports coming from young women . But the police have warned that everyone should stay on their guard as anyone can fall victim to Christmas shopping fraudsters . More than 15,000 shoppers lost a total of £11million to scammers over the Christmas period last year . Detective Chief Superintendent Pete O ’ Doherty , of the City of London Police , said : “ Unfortunately , at what is an expensive time of year for many , the internet has provided fraudsters with a platform to lure Attack.Phishing people in with the promise of cheap deals . He added : “ To stop fraudsters in their tracks , be cautious of where and from whom you ’ re buying , especially if it is technology at a reduced price . '' Tony Neate , CEO of Get Safe Online , a free fraud awareness website , said : “ It can be easy to rush into making a quick purchase online to secure a must have gift or bargain without taking the time to check that everything is as it seems . “ But taking a couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with a few simple online safety tips can be the difference between getting all your shopping done in time and becoming a victim of online fraud . '' There are plenty of Black Friday and Cyber Monday scams around at the moment - we 've revealed the latest tricks used by fraudsters . Meanwhile scammers claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Tesco are running a fake competition in an attempt to steal your bank details .

A Ukrainian cybercrime operation has made an estimated $ 50 million by using Google AdWords to lure Attack.Phishing users on Bitcoin phishing sites . The operation has been temporarily disrupted this month when Ukrainian cyber police shut down servers hosting some of the phishing sites , acting on information they received from Cisco 's Talos security division . No arrests were made , and it 's very likely that the group will make a comeback in the future . The group —which Cisco tracked internally under the codename of Coinhoarder— has been operating for years , but appears to have used the same scheme since February 2017 , possibly earlier . Crooks purchase so-called typosquatted domains that imitate Attack.Phishing the real Blockchain.info Bitcoin wallet management service . Coinhoarder operators then set up Attack.Phishing phishing pages on these domains that log users credentials , which they later use to steal funds from users ' accounts . According to Cisco , instead of using malvertising or spam campaigns , crooks buy legitimate ads via the Google AdWords platform and place links Attack.Phishing to their phishing sites at the top of Bitcoin-related Google search results . This trick is not only simple to execute but very effective . Cisco reported that based on DNS query data , ads for one domain roped in over 200,000 users . It is believed the group lured Attack.Phishing tens of millions of users to its phishing sites . It is unclear how many users tried to log in on the fake sites , but after tracking down various thefts reported on social media and involving some of the Coinhoarder groups typosquatted domains , Cisco says the group made around $ 50 million worth of Bitcoin in the past three years . For example , in one campaign that took place from September 2017 to December 2017 , the group made around $ 10 million , while in another campaign that lasted 3.5 weeks , the group made another $ 2 million . Researchers also point out that crooks used geo-targeting filters for their ads , targeting mostly Bitcoin owners in Africa . `` This threat actor appears to be Attack.Phishing standing up phishing pages to target potential victims African countries and other developing nations where banking can be more difficult , and local currencies much more unstable compared to the digital asset , '' researchers said in a report published yesterday . `` Additionally , attackers have taken notice that targeting users in countries whose first language is not English make for potentially easier targets . '' Cisco says it tracked down the phishing sites hosted on the servers of a bulletproof hosting provider located in Ukraine —Highload Systems . This is where Ukraine 's cyber police department intervened and took down servers . According to Cisco , the Coinhoarder group is by far the largest phishing operation Attack.Phishing that has targeted Blockchain.info , the biggest Bitcoin wallet service online . Bleeping Computer , too , has spotted increases in phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing targeting Blockchain.info in December 2016 and December 2017 . Among the new tricks detected by Cisco since our previous reports , crooks have started using Let 's Encrypt certificates to make their phishing sites load via HTTPS , and have also incorporated homograph attacks .

Scammers taking advantage of tax time are trying to trick Attack.Phishing Australians into handing over their personal details with the promise of a tax refund through a fake myGov form . Stay Safe Online issued a high alert for the latest scam on Wednesday . `` It 's tax time and the common scam email informing that you 're eligible for a tax refund is doing the rounds again , '' the warning said . `` Scammers have long used the promise of a tax refund to trick Attack.Phishing people into sharing their personal information or to download malware . '' The phishing email claims to come from Attack.Phishing myGov and has the subject line , `` Important information regarding your account '' , as well as the myGov logo . It asks you to click on a link to claim your refund . The link leads Attack.Phishing to a fake tax refund claim form Attack.Phishing , asking for personal details such as email , password , and credit card details . `` After you supply this information and click the continue button , you 'll be automatically redirected to the myGov website . By then it 's too late and the scammer has your details . '' Stay Safe Online said scammers can use that information to commit credit card fraud and identity theft . `` The ATO and myGov will never send an email or SMS asking you to click on a link and provide login , personal or financial information , download a file or open an attachment . '' Earlier this month scammers used a cloned version of myGov website in an attempt to lure Attack.Phishing in victims with a phishing email . Australian Taxation Office assistant commissioner Kath Anderson said tax time was a popular time for scammers to prey on unsuspecting Australians , busily preparing their tax returns or even waiting on a refund .

Phishing Attack.Phishing takes place when a fraudster tricks Attack.Phishing an individual into sharing sensitive information ( account numbers , Social Security numbers , login credentials , etc . ) by way of fraudulent emails , texts , or counterfeit websites . Phishing Attack.Phishing can also enable a scammer to gain access to a computer or network so that they can install malware , such as ransomware , on a victim 's computer . Phishers are able to achieve this by spoofing Attack.Phishing the familiar , trusted logos of established , legitimate companies . Or , they may pose as Attack.Phishing a friend or family member and are often successful in completely deluding Attack.Phishing their targets . In carrying out attacks , Dark Caracal uses trojanized WhatsApp and Facebook apps to try to lure Attack.Phishing users into clicking malicious links and downloading Android malware , called Pallas , which can collect vast amounts of data . Dark Caracal targets include governments , military organizations , utilities , financial institutions , manufacturing companies and defense contractors . Stealth Mango ( Android ) and Tangelo ( iOS ) , discovered by Lookout Security Intelligence , are surveillanceware tools that target government officials , diplomats , activists and military personnel , specifically in Pakistan , Afghanistan , Iraq , India and the UAE . According to Lookout Security , “ data from U.S. , Australian , and German officials and military have been swept up in the campaign we believe is being run by members in the Pakistani military. ” Fake eFax email deceives Attack.Phishing email recipients by telling them they have received ‘ a new eFax ’ and that they need to click on a link button in the email to retrieve the document . The link goes to a phishing page . This is not a new attack , but has recently been spotted in emails again . Email filtering company , Mailguard , has picked up Attack.Phishing a fake E-Toll notification containing an infected .doc file . According to Mailguard , the file contains a malicious macro that will download malware to the victim ’ s computer . The notification also includes the logos of Microsoft Office and Mailguard in order to appear Attack.Phishing authentic . It even goes as far as to claim that , “ this document is protected by MailGuard '' . DHL branding was mimicked Attack.Phishing and fake shipping notifications were sent out Attack.Phishing , asking recipients to download an attached file that contained highly destructive trojan malware . “ MEWKit Attack.Phishing ” is a phishing attack Attack.Phishing that directly steals Ethereum from users of MyEtherWallet . Using MyEtherWallet as bait Attack.Phishing , it attempts to trick Attack.Phishing Ethereum investors into logging in to the bogus , cloned version of the website in order to steal their credentials . Gmail ’ s new Confidential Mode may invite link-baiting phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . According to analysis by ComputerWorld , “ Confidential Mode works by storing your email in a secure space on Google servers in the cloud . When both sender and recipient use Gmail , the email appears normal . But recipients who do not use Gmail get a link for viewing the email in a browser . The messages you send or receive via Confidential Mode are not actually email . The link is an email , but the message is an email-looking page on the internet that ’ s password-protected . Emails containing the link can , in fact , be forwarded , but only the intended recipient can successfully open the link . When someone gets one of these forwarded mails , they ’ re prompted for their Google login username and password to determine whether or not they ’ re the intended recipient . This is problematic , because it invites link-baiting phishing attacks Attack.Phishing , which could con people into revealing their login information . ” A phishing campaign Attack.Phishing targeting Apple users seeks to dupe Attack.Phishing victims into updating their profiles in preparation for the EU ’ s General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) policies , which go into effect on May 25 . This is just one of many scams exploiting the coming implementation of GDPR policies .