Malware continues to be used
by criminal syndicates to further their cyber fraud operations. New malicious
applications are constantly distributed by these scammers all over the Web, in
an effort to penetrate widely used devices today despite advanced security
protocols. Their distribution tactics also evolve through time.
To avoid cyber fraud, you
must first learn how these malware programs are used for the most prevalent
online scams this year. This can also help you determine how to effectively
prevent these malicious applications from penetrating and successfully
initializing in your devices.
How Do Scammers Use Malicious Programs for Cyber
Fraud?
1. Stealth
Data Extraction - Some criminal syndicates create malware for the purpose of
secretly extracting data from the compromised device. These stolen details are then
used to perpetuate their cyber fraud operations.
Also known as spyware, these
applications create logs, screenshots and even screen recordings of everything
that users do on their devices. These are then transmitted to a pre-designated
network of Web servers. These servers have built-in tools for automatically
filtering these stolen details for possible financial information or any type
of data that the scammer wants. All these criminals need to do is to gather
these filtered details and manually scrub it further so they can use these stolen financial details for their cyber fraud schemes.
2. Scareware
and Ransomware Campaigns - These criminals create sites with JavaScript that
cause Web browser freezes and redirects. They also tamper installers of popular
legitimate software products to take off its trial mode protection protocols
and inject adware components into its code. Some scammers also inject adware
code into content downloads like popular movies, MP3s and other multimedia
files. Other criminal syndicates create rogue software applications that pose
as legitimate system security tools, data recovery programs, productivity
products and so on. These are all used to conduct Web fraud.
Many of these malicious
applications display messages in compromised devices at timed intervals. These
messages inform users that their devices have been compromised by high risk
malware programs. These messages also scare users into thinking that their data
will be wiped out or their financial information hacked if they don't call a
toll free number or download a rogue system security application.
They then become victims of
Web fraud as soon as they comply with these demands. They'll be conned out of
their money and forced to pay for these fake tech support services and rogue
software products. Their payment information and personal details can also be
stolen and used for more serious Web crimes.
3. Bot
Network Creation - These criminals create bot networks to conduct their other
cyber fraud activities on the Web. They use these bot networks to utilize the
IP addresses of unsuspecting users, along with the hardware and bandwidth
resources of these compromised devices. These are then used to do other illegal
activities like CPA (cost per action), CPL (cost per lead) and CPC (cost per
click) fraud.
These bot networks are also
used to launch hacker attacks against other Web servers. Some criminal
syndicates use these bot networks to anonymously purchase illegal products from
the Deep Web using stolen credit cards and hacked financial accounts.
Unsuspecting users are left holding the bag when authorities investigate these
cyber fraud operations. That's because their IP addresses and stored personal
details are logged during these activities. Some innocent users have been wrongly
accused, while a few have ended up doing time in federal prison. That's how
serious cyber fraud can get!
This is how criminal
syndicates use malware to support their cyber fraud operations. Share this with
your family and friends to inform them about these things. They'll be able to
better prepare themselves against these malicious programs and associated online
scams.
