- Wiadomości bezpieczeństwa
- Cybercrime & Digital Threats
- Fatal Love: 8 Web Threats to Watch Out For This Valentine’s Day
For the 9th volume of the popular “Sandman” series, renowned author Neil Gaiman wrote, “Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.”
The Internet soon caught wind of these lines, which are now splattered all over social media sites like Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. It confirms a sentiment that many people can already relate to: Love can be fatal.
In the World Wide Web, the idea of love might not be fatal, but it can certainly compromise you in a number of ways. Valentine’s day is coming up, and the Internet is starting to come alive with active threats that try to bait unknowing users with topics related to love or dating.
In the same way that Gaiman declares how love “makes you so vulnerable,” these web threats are also sure to leave their victims vulnerable. Instead of heartaches, the consequences can range from personal data loss to reputation damage.
Make your Valentine’s day less fatal and watch out for these ten web threats that could ruin your day:
Found in: Email spammed messages
Amidst a noticeable spike of dating spam numbers, we again saw this creative message that invites bachelors to get to know Russian girls who “love to have someone who cares, loves and pampers you” by registering with a dating site on the link in the message. However, this leads to a phishing site that gathers personal information, which we now know as…
Found in: Email spammed messages
Spammed messages that abuse the name of online greeting card business 123 Greetings includes a number of links that try to make sure you’re healthy this coming Valentine’s day. However, when you click on the links, you are redirected to a dangerous phishing site that asks for personal information.
Found in: Mobile app stores
The Be Naughty mobile app is an online dating app that asks you to create a profile so you can flirt and chat with other users in a chat room. Detected as AndroidOS_Arpush.HRXV, this app is also an adware that can steal personal information, add bookmarks, pushes advertisements, creates site shortcuts without user permission.
Found in: Facebook spammed messages
You might run into FB Game apps links now circulating in Facebook messages. Looking at global statistics, we saw Valentine’s day links and graphics that leads to this webpage. Once on the page, you are asked to complete a survey so you can download Facebook games, though what actually happens is that you only give your credentials and other personal information away.
This Valentine’s season, it’s only natural for people to go out and try to find a date, either in real life or online. Just remember that cybercriminals use this very sentiment to create threats. Here are some basic best practices to guide you:
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