PSA: Scammers Are Trying to Steal Your Money and Crypto Using Search Engine Ads
Being on the internet means you are potentially a target of a scam. Here’s one more that you need to keep an eye out for as scammers are making use of search engine ads to steal your money and cryptocurrency.
Scammers Using Search Engine Ads to Steal Money and Crypto
According to a report by The Record, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently discovered a new scheme that scammers have developed. It will extract a victim’s bank account information via phishing sites disguised as banks to give out out their personal banking information.
They way they do it by using ads to attract unsuspecting users to fake websites, but there are also ways implemented to make users find the website organically. The scammers will then use a set of tactics to get the necessary banking information and immediately make transfers using it.
In both versions of the scheme, the spoofed portal prompted customers to enter account credentials and telephone numbers, and to answer security questions. These actions failed to grant access, at which point the account holder would receive a telephone call from the cyber actor who falsely claimed to represent the financial institution.
While this individual occupied the customer in a lengthy process purported to restore account access, an associate would access the financial institution’s legitimate portal using the customer’s stolen credentials and initiate wire transfers from the account. Victims subsequently learned about the illicit transfers from the financial institution or when they eventually logged into the correct portal.
FBI
It appears that this scheme has been happening since March 2021 but it’s not the first of its kind. There have been similar phishing sites around for years, but this time they are targeting cryptocurrency investors. These phishing websites are easy to delete which makes it hard to track down these scammers. The most we can do is be aware of what’s happening and be extra careful while on the internet.
Pokdepinion: I’m not surprised that scammers have the money to pay for putting up ads, and it would ultimately get them more money if they succeed anyway. It’s something for everyone to be extra careful of as they surf the web.
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