Spam advertising IQ tests over instant messaging services has spiked and scammers are using some smart sales techniques, a security firm has warned.
In one case, the spam message asked the user to click through to partake in a test, which had 11 questions in total, noted Trend Micro fraud analyst Christopher Talampas.
The purported service then prompted the potential victim to sign up and provide a mobile phone number to get the actual results.
Looking down at the Summary of Terms at the bottom of the page, Talampas read that by giving the quiz's creators their phone number, users signed up to a "mobile content subscription."
The subscription fee ranged from $9.99$19.99 a month, Talampas noted in a blog, and this led the researcher to leave the site immediately.
He added: "One may ask why the site would need a mobile phone number just to send IQ test results. Will they use this information to spam me through my mobile phone? Nor is it clear if the answers to the questions actually matter to the IQ score' given to the user, if they actually receive one."
Cyber criminals have been using varying sales tricks of late. A new Trojan was recently spotted by Sunbelt Software, which offered a comparison of anti-virus services.
The products that appeared to do the best jobs turned out to be rogue anti-virus products.
-
Bigger salaries, more burnout: Is the CISO role in crisis?In-depth CISOs are more stressed than ever before – but why is this and what can be done?
-
Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25News Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Exploitation of Docker remote API servers has reached a “critical level”News Hackers are targeting Docker’s remote access API as it allows them to pivot from a single container to the host and deploy malware with ease
-
Cyber criminal underground “thriving” as weekly attacks surge by 75% in Q3 2024Cyber attacks reached another all-time high this quarter as digital crime continues to be a highly profitable industry for threat actors
-
Alarm raised over patched Phemedrone Stealer malware that's being used to target Windows PCs - here's what you need to knowNews Phemedrone Stealer is being used to exploit a vulnerability in Windows Defender SmartScreen despite the issue being patched in November 2023
-
SOC modernization and the role of XDRWhitepaper Automate security processes to deliver efficiencies across IT
-
Uncovering the ransomware threat from global supply chainsWhitepaper Effectively mitigate ransomware risk
-
The near and far future of ransomware business modelsWhitepaper Discover how criminals use ransomware as a cyberweapon
-
Trend Micro security predictions for 2023Whitepaper Prioritise cyber security strategies on capabilities rather than costs
-
Signal hires former Google manager Meredith Whittaker as first presidentNews An outspoken critic of the dangers of AI, Whittaker promises to keep Signal users out of tech giants' "surveillant gaze"
