Barbie is having a stellar hour around the world, with major premieres and widespread acclaim. The film's global popularity has also attracted the attention of cyber criminals, who are using the success of the film to draw people's attention in various ways so that they fall into the traps set by the scammers. Experts from IT security company NOD Baltic warn that people in Latvia are also at risk and urge people to be careful online and not to fall for fake films, viruses and other scams.
Over 100 new malicious programmes with the word "Barbie" in their name have appeared online in recent weeks. The malware files vary, but the most common are the familiar .html and .exe files. Most of the malware masquerades as a fake downloadable movie, as well as Barbie-related viruses and fake videos that lead to pages where you can get free or buy movie tickets, but are actually designed to steal personal data.
"Recent events have shown how cyber criminals are taking advantage of various issues in society. The extreme situation with the spread of Covid-19 opened up a world of opportunities for fraudsters who set up malicious campaigns and made money at the expense of people's anxiety. Last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine, cyber criminals used the event to play on people's emotions and ask them to donate, in effect defrauding them and stealing their personal data. A worried public, excessive demand for goods that are in short supply, massive misinformation on social media or an event that the whole world is following - all these create great opportunities for cyber criminals to try to defraud people while they are easily impressed and interested. Cyber criminals keep a close eye on the world's current events and the movie 'Barbie' is currently on their radar," says Egil Ruppenheit, IT engineer at NOD Baltic.
"Barbie mania has taken over the internet - the word 'Barbie' is one of the most searched words on the internet and the topic of Barbie is widely discussed on social networks. Although the most active cybercriminal activity so far has been in the US, after the film's premiere in Europe, including Latvia, we can expect to see a variety of scammers' methods reaching us too. We should remember that threats on the internet have no geographical boundaries and we should be wary of anything containing the word "Barbie", such as pop-up advertisements, tempting offers of free tickets, emails with malicious links. Parents should warn their children to beware of offers such as a chance to win Barbie," says Ruppenheit.
To be effective and work, cyber criminals are always looking for ways to make their scams more attractive and credible. But people need to be vigilant and take note of a number of tips to avoid falling victim to cyber criminals.
First, choose companies that are trustworthy and well-known. In the context of Barbie, this means buying tickets on the websites of cinemas you know - preferably not by clicking on an ad, but by visiting the cinema's app (downloadable from the AppStore or Google Play) or website and entering its address into your web browser. Fraudsters tend to open fake online ticket offices - you won't get tickets, of course, but cyber criminals will have made a profit and may have stolen your banking or other sensitive data.
Second, only watch films online on trusted streaming apps or sites. Don't fall for offers to download or watch Barbie online! Remember that if you find an offer to stream something that is heavily discounted, free or not available in cinemas, it's probably a scam.
Thirdly, if you click on a link in an advertisement or email, pay attention to the open page. Online scammers tend to mimic the pages of well-known brands very closely, but you can spot a scam by checking that the brand name is spelled correctly in the address field, that there are no grammatical errors in the text, or that the design is consistent, which you can do by opening the same brand's website in a new window.
Fourth, keep your devices secure. This can be done by regularly downloading system updates to your phone and computer, which are released regularly by the developers of all operating systems and applications, and by using anti-virus software, which is designed to protect against various types of viruses and malware. As previously reported, a survey conducted by ESET Latvia and Nielsen last year showed a worrying situation - one in ten (13%) Latvians had not installed any anti-virus software on their devices.
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