- By Vikas Yadav
- Thu, 27 Jul 2023 08:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Barbie and Oppenheimer made a screen-smashing appearance at the box office and were loved by fans across the globe, including India. The summer blockbusters also grabbed the eyeballs of scammers in the country to encash the hype to trick people. In fresh cases, fraudsters are implementing methods such as "free tickets" and "full movie free download" to infect a user's computer with malware, McAfee discovered.
Once a user clicks on the links of these websites, they are welcomed with viruses in the guise of downloading full movies in different languages such as Hindi and Tamil and buying free tickets that pull away personal data from the computer, leading to phishing and other forms of scams, states Steve Grobman, CTO of the security firm.
Oppenheimer, Barbie Movie Free Download Scam
In the examples uncovered by McAfee, once the user clicks on the download button on the malicious website, a .zip package gets downloaded on a user's device stuffed with malicious .html and .exe files.
Barbie Free Movie Tickets Fake Videos
These fraud videos redirect a victim to a third-party server (Discord in most cases) or a website where an attacker might request a user to download a large .exe package packed with "Redline Stealer," which steals data such as login credentials, personal details and more. This data is then auctioned on the dark web.
Barbie Movie Tickets, Free Download Scam: Affected Countries
The United States tops the charts of the most affected countries in these cases with a 37 per cent share. India (five per cent) shares the third spot with Spain, the United Kingdom and Brazil. Australia (at six per cent) is the second-most affected region.
Oppenheimer Movie Free Download Scam: How to Stay Safe?
To stay safe in the online world, here are a few tips you can follow: Always stick to a reliable streamer to watch movie content and do not download content from websites that promise free movies. Such websites upload pirated content which could risk the security of your device.
A user must buy tickets offline or from a reputed vendor online. Websites and YouTube channels that promise heavily discounted deals or "free" tickets are a red flag of incoming malware. Plus, use strong passwords and an antivirus to stay protected from similar ransomware attacks and avoid clicking on suspicious links.