Cybersecurity giant Avast has released its Q4 2022 Threat Report, taking a close look at the types of scams targeting vulnerable users.
Some of the most notable types of fraud have included social engineering that exposes human error, such as B. Refund and billing fraud tactics, as well as alleged tech support fraud. Lottery-themed adware campaigns remained as prevalent as in previous quarters.
In addition to fraud, the company noticed two zero-day exploits in Chrome and Windows, which have since been patched, emphasizing the importance for users of keeping software up to date.
Popular email scam
Avast Malware Research Director Jakub Kroustek explained that cybercriminals attribute much of their success to human nature, which makes us react with urgency, fear, and an attempt to regain control of problems.
Kroustek’s advice is, “When people are confronted with surprising pop-up messages or emails, we encourage them to remain calm and take a moment to think before they act.”
In the final months of 2022 leading up to Christmas, an alarming rise in refund and billing fraud was seen as misled users gave malicious actors control of their screen and online banking. Instead of calling the number in the scam email, unsure users might want to go directly to the platform’s website and use a number they are sure of.
Data theft also appeared in several lottery-like pop-ups, as well as the Arkei information stealer, which saw a staggering 437% increase. Among other things, Arkei is known for stealing information from browser autofill forms.
Finally, two zero-day exploits were found in Google Chrome and Windows. According to Avast, both companies were notified and responded promptly, which helped minimize the risk to users.
Source: www.techradar.com
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