The alleged promotion aims only to steal data from users.
By:
Agencies
09:22 AM / 27/06/2020-
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Users of social networks alert about a new fraud through Whasapp chains. It is an alleged promotion that offers free beer, but that really only seeks to steal data from the unwary who fall into the trap.
The deception has particularly affected users in Argentina. There a message began to circulate that read “stay at home with a cooler full of beer”, accompanied by the Heineken logo.
As detailed by the Russian portal Sputnik, the procedure is very simple: the message shows a link that the user must access. Once on the page that opens, the person enters their details with the promise of receiving Heineken beer at home, but it never arrives. It is also requested that the message be shared with 20 other contacts, so the scam is affecting an exponential number of victims.
“With this modus operandi, the cybercriminals behind this deception not only ensure that they continue to distribute the scam, but also seek to lower the security expectations of users when receiving the message from an acquaintance,” specialist Luis Lubeck, from the cybersecurity company Eset Latin America.
The Dutch brewer took action on the matter and issued a statement to prevent the scam, old but lately rekindled, from continuing to proliferate. “We inform that we are not carrying out this type of promotions. We recommend avoiding liking the link and not sharing information on the site as it could be a scam,” the company warned on the networks.
This type of scam is known as phishing, and is intended to trick users into obtaining their personal data.
Lately, many scams are being reported that use brand names to attract customers, especially because of the increased use of internet-connected devices during the pandemic.
“It is always advisable to be suspicious of any message that may be too good to be true. You must keep security systems updated and check URLs because if they are false, they will be different from the official ones. You always have to enter through official means and not by messages that reach us through other channels, “said Gabriel Zurdo, CEO of BTR Consulting, a company dedicated to cybersecurity.
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