The Last Watchdog

AUGUST 18, 2021

billion in 2017; Avast acquired AVG for $1.3 In addition, even simple training or quizzes on how to spot a phishing attack will help individuals to avoid being caught up in a scam or a potential attack. Also, one of the top ways attackers can target individuals is via social engineering or phishing.

Antivirus 223

Antivirus Marketing Identity Theft Social Engineering 223

Security Affairs

MARCH 8, 2020

The final payload is the FormBook information-stealing Trojan, a malware that was first spotted by researchers at FireEye in October 2017. Researchers explained that FormBook is easy to use, it is offered for sale in the criminal underground since July 2017, it was offered for $29 a week up to a $299 full-package “pro” deal.

Malware 145

Malware Scams Social Engineering Phishing 145

Malwarebytes

AUGUST 17, 2023

Back in January 2020, we blogged about a tech support scam campaign dubbed WoofLocker that was by far using the most complex traffic redirection scheme we had ever seen. In fact, the threat actor had started deploying infrastructure in earnest as early as 2017, about 3 years prior to our publication.

Scams 97

Scams Social Engineering Engineering 97

Security Affairs

JUNE 20, 2020

The crooks exploited online tools and technology along with social engineering tactics to target the victims and steal usernames, passwords, and bank accounts. From September 2015 to June 2017, Olorunyomi and an accomplice engaged in a romance fraud scheme that resulted in losses of more than $1 million. ” continues OFAC.

Scams 119

Scams Social Engineering Small Business Banking 119

eSecurity Planet

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

According to statistics from the FBI’s 2021 Internet Crime Report , complaints to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) have been rising since 2017. There are dozens if not hundreds of types of scams out there, but we’re going to focus on the scams most likely to affect a business, such as phishing or business email compromise (BEC).

Social Engineering 120

Social Engineering Energy and Utilities Phishing Scams 120

Malwarebytes

JULY 12, 2021

Verified accounts on Twitter continue to be favourites for account compromise / fake Elon scams. There are other Elon scams out there, though. And sites doing so-called limited time offers on shipping only watches had some attention in 2017. Attach his name to something he has no involvement in and watch it fly.

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Accountability Scams Media Marketing 138

The Last Watchdog

JUNE 21, 2020

This quirk made the attack look more trustworthy and added a layer of flexibility to these scams. The WannaCry and NotPetya outbreaks in May and June 2017, respectively, were the most devastating in history. The FBI-themed ransomware was one of the most prolific infections at the time.

Ransomware 243

Ransomware Hacking Encryption Penetration Testing 243

Security Affairs

APRIL 30, 2020

The threat actors leverage perfectly orchestrated social engineering technique by “persuading” people holding significant corporate positions to open a non-malicious PDF email attachment coming from an authentic address in their contacts. However, this is a specially crafted presentation page which abuses Sway default borderless view.

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Phishing Accountability Financial Services Cloud Migration 139

Malwarebytes

JANUARY 5, 2022

They could start sending out a fake email marketing campaign to Uber clients, potentially using a list from the 57 million user data breach in 2017. Suffice to say, there is a lot of scamming potential here. The email could contain a link to click on that leads to an external site that was made to look like it’s from Uber, too.

Phishing 120

Phishing Data breaches Scams Marketing 120

Malwarebytes

JUNE 8, 2021

Money mules and spear phishing are thrown into the mix alongside social engineering and international theft of money, personal, and confidential information. Big scams, big numbers. The wire transfers listed range from $44,900 to $230,400 across most of 2017 to 2018. Peeling back the TrickBot onion.

Cybercrime 121

Cybercrime Malware Banking Phishing 121

NopSec

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

As we look forward into 2017 cyber attacks , information security teams have to think like hackers in order to stay ahead of the challenges to come. Based on 2016’s trends, we expect in 2017 to see more frequent and severe DDoS incidents. 2017 will see major advancements in technology. For a preview, read on.

Cybersecurity 40

Cybersecurity DDOS IoT Social Engineering 40

eSecurity Planet

APRIL 23, 2021

Since 2017, host Jack Rhysider has investigated some of the most noteworthy stories related to the darkside of the internet, specifically hacking, data breaches, and cybercrime. They talk about new scams as well as the measures companies and individuals can take to avoid them.

Cybersecurity 142

Cybersecurity InfoSec Cybercrime Hacking 142

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Security firm Group-IB has estimated that in H2 2017-H1 2018 cyber attacks caused $49.4 Group-IB, an international company that specializes in preventing cyber attacks, has estimated that in H2 2017-H1 2018 cyber attacks caused $49.4 In December 2017, Group-IB published the first report on this group: “MoneyTaker: 1.5

Cyber Attacks 108

Cyber Attacks Banking Cyber threats Phishing 108

Security Boulevard

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Europol correctly describes the primary method of SIM-swapping when they say in the press release above, "This is typically achieved by the criminals exploiting phone service providers to do the swap on their behalf, either via a corrupt insider or using social engineering techniques.". How do Phone Company Insiders enable these scams?

Cryptocurrency 119

Cryptocurrency Accountability Scams Social Engineering 119

The Last Watchdog

MAY 11, 2020

In May 2017, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) rolled out its Cyber Security Framework mandating detailed data security rules, including a requirement to encrypt and containerize business data in all computing formats. Shamoon motivated the Saudis to seriously ramp up the work of its National Cyber Security Center.

Computers and Electronics 113

Computers and Electronics Data privacy Encryption Media 113

SecureList

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

More and more often, scam websites posing as large companies that promise huge cash prizes in return for completing a survey have begun setting out stricter criteria for those who want a chance to win. There were also some new trends, such as the investment scam which is gaining momentum.

Phishing 98

Phishing Scams Accountability Banking 98

eSecurity Planet

MARCH 23, 2022

APTs will contain a cyberattack component, but APTs also commonly include confidence schemes, social engineering , physical access to facilities , bribes, extortion, and other methods to gain system access. Attacks target a wide range of victims such as defense contractors in the USA or business networks in Germany.

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Firewall Malware Phishing Software 108

SecureList

MARCH 1, 2021

In their campaigns to infect mobile devices, cybercriminals always resort to social engineering tools, the most common of these passing a malicious application off as another, popular and desirable one. Mobile malicious installation packages for Android in 2017 through 2020 ( download ). This malware was first spotted in 2017.

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Mobile Malware Adware Banking 145

Spinone

DECEMBER 17, 2019

Many of these attacks prey upon human nature by using social engineering tactics to trick a user into inadvertently allowing ransomware onto their system, under the guise of something legitimate. One of the most famous examples is the EternalBlue exploit, which was the main channel of the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017.

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Ransomware Passwords Encryption Phishing 83

Security Boulevard

JANUARY 7, 2025

AI-powered attacks, like deepfake video scams, have been limited to date. One example of an AI-powered attack is the use of deepfakes to scam individuals. AI can also be used to automate social engineering attacks by engaging with targets on social media, building trust, and gathering information to personalize attacks 8.

Firewall 58

Firewall Cyber threats Risk Social Engineering 58

Digital Shadows

AUGUST 17, 2021

Going back a bit, it was also the top attack vector in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and well, hopefully, you get the picture. The social engineering aspect around phishing works because humans want to be helpful, informed, paid well, get stuff for free sometimes, and generally not end up on the wrong side of management.

Phishing 52

Phishing Accountability Social Engineering Mobile 52

IT Security Guru

AUGUST 9, 2023

Twitter Bitcoin Scam In July of 2020, a number of high-profile celebrity and brand accounts tweeted out messages stating that all Bitcoin sent to their wallets for a period of time would be returned twofold—if someone sent $1000, they would receive $2000 back. million court settlement reached in 2017.

Insurance 98

Insurance Data breaches Social Engineering Accountability 98

SecureList

AUGUST 5, 2021

Workers in other fields were invited to calculate their entitled payout by clicking the Get Social Assistance button. Parcel scam: buy one, get none. Therefore, any offer to buy them is evidently a scam. Another traditional scam aims to persuade the user that they are the lucky winner of a tidy sum.

Phishing 130

Phishing Banking Scams Computers and Electronics 130

CyberSecurity Insiders

JANUARY 31, 2021

Cybercriminals often leverage social engineering tactics like phishing and spear-phishing to propagate sophisticated malware. WannaCry 2017 is well-known for the stir and panic it caused in May 2017 by affecting thousands of NHS hospitals, delaying critical medical procedures, and rerouting ambulances.

Malware 107

Malware Computers and Electronics Adware Spyware 107

SecureList

MARCH 29, 2021

For example, in July of 2017, the data of 14 million Verizon users was breached due to incorrectly configured buckets. During these conversations, cybercriminals employed social engineering techniques to gain access not only to the internal network of the company, but also to tools that enabled them to manage Twitter user accounts.

Identity Theft 119

Identity Theft Phishing Accountability Banking 119

Lenny Zeltser

JULY 25, 2018

Scammers use a variety of social engineering tactics when persuading victims to follow the desired course of action. Personalized Porn Extortion Scam. Consider the case of an extortion scam in which the sender claims to have evidence of the victim’s pornography-viewing habits. Data Breach Lawsuit Scam.

Scams 60

Scams Social Engineering Passwords Big data 60

Spinone

JANUARY 20, 2020

The example – NotPetya cyberattack against Ukraine in 2017. That is why hackers use social engineering tricks to pressure victims into paying a ransom. There are two ways phishing scams operate: The email/SMS contains a link leading to a scam website. The ransom demand is insane: from 15 to 50 Bitcoins.

Ransomware 59

Ransomware Encryption Antivirus Backups 59

SecureList

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Thus, during the World Cup a brand-new scam appeared: it offered users to win a newly released iPhone 14 for predicting match outcomes. In a typical internet hoax manner, crypto scam sites offered visitors to get rich quick by paying a small fee. “Promotional campaigns by major banks” were a popular bait in 2022.

Phishing 113

Phishing Scams Accountability Energy and Utilities 113

Adam Levin

DECEMBER 7, 2020

The massive shift to work from home in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has meant a rush to secure a wider range of home devices and networks, and an instant spike in demand for training and services that protect employees in identifying attempted cyberattacks and scams. Economic stimulus checks were targeted.

IoT 130

IoT Artificial Intelligence Technology Scams 130

SecureList

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

The original “Nigerian” spam emails were sent in the name of influential and wealthy individuals from Nigeria, hence the name of the scam. However, the distinctive characteristics of the messages that placed them in the “Nigerian” scam category remained unchanged: The user is encouraged to reply to an email.

Scams 93

Scams Banking Social Engineering Phishing 93

Troy Hunt

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

— Michael Kan (@Michael_Kan) February 28, 2017 Problem is, random people are precisely the sorts of people that find data breaches. Onto the "scammer" comment and it raises an interesting question: is this a scam? Have you ever had someone try to scam you who started out being obnoxious? Maybe he forgot?

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Scams Data breaches InfoSec Social Engineering 72