Phishing websites designed to steal sensitive info such as personal information and credit card details are mushrooming in the essence of exploiting the hype surrounding this year’s oscar best picture nominated movies. These sites carry malware which can lure the fan’s to provide some personal information in the exchange of free movie preview.
These phishing websites promises early previews either in the form of fake streaming sites or via malicious files disguised as early released copies, which is a false promise. Worth to mention here, this is not a new practice in the field of cyber security.
Around 20 phishing websites and 925 malicious files that were presented as free movies, only to attack the user and mentioned that the the uncovered phishing websites and that the Twitter accounts gather users’ data and prompt them to carry out a variety of tasks in order to gain access to the desired film as stated by Kaspersky.
To promote their malicious sites and look authentic, the attackers create their online presence on almost all the social media forums such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram.
What should fan’s do?
Stick to legal streaming platforms and subscriptions to avoid being tricked by criminals.
Follow below guidelines as outlined by Kaspersky to be safe
Be attentive to note to the official movie release dates in theaters, on streaming services, TV, DVD, or other sources
Don’t click on suspicious links, like those promising an early view of a replacement film; check movie release dates in theaters and keep track of them
Look at the downloaded file extension. Even if you’re getting to download a video file from a source you think about trusted and bonafide , the file should have a .avi, .mkv or .mp4 extension, or other video formats; definitely not .exe
Check the website’s authenticity.
Do not visit websites allowing you to observe a movie until you’re sure that they’re legitimate and begin with https.
Confirm that the web site is genuine, by double-checking the format of the URL or the spelling of the corporate name; on phising websites the spelling are missplet,
Use a reliable security solution, like Kaspersky Security Cloud, for comprehensive protection from a good range of threats
More information about the adoption of Oscar best picture nominees as a phishing bait supported their theatrical or Netflix release is out there in Kaspersky’s handout .
