2020 was a very difficult year for people using mobile devices (and computers). Lockdown made many of us stay at home and reach more for phones, computers.


What was 2021 like? Was it worse or better?

Here are some of the methods that fraudsters used to harm users in 2021.


    Receiving a parcel - a method of infecting a phone, popular in 2021, thanks to which those who harm us could, after we enter the link to collect the parcel, steal login details to bank accounts and infect others from our contact list on the phone
    Updates of the regulations in well-known e-mail services, eg Onet or WP. We get a warning that due to the change in the regulations, we must keep the account. After clicking on the link, the user was encouraged to download and install the malware
    Loan Grant - A popup information about granting a loan that we never really asked for. In panic, someone who sees such an inscription may click on the link that would lead to the cancellation of this process, but the link directs us to a page that will allow us to transfer money to our account (of course, after providing our data to the bank). Which is obviously a scam
    Victory in the national lottery. Last year, after vaccination, it was possible to receive a prize in the national lottery. Criminals text a link to a potentially won prize that leads us to the Google store to install a fake mO Citizen app




The most important question. Where do the scammers get our phone number?

There are several possibilities. The two most popular are

    personal data leaks on the Internet - when a website falls victim to a cyber attack, our data is usually stolen, e.g. our name, surname, telephone number, address
    Databases from mailing companies. Many mailing companies have our personal data that they obtained more or less legally. It is from these companies that fraudsters buy databases, which they then use for attacks
    Flash Player plugin - a fake notification about installing the flash player plugin, after accepting it, allowed the criminal to control the screen and perform actions on the victim's device

How to protect yourself? Never click on any link from a stranger (or sometimes from a friend). Check the logic of the sent message. Did you order anything? Check your orders in the email first.

Source: cert.pl