 |
| Kaspersky: Cybercriminals target viewers of The Last of Us |
For some time now, cybercriminals have been preparing hundreds of thousands of viewers in anticipation of the start of a new TV series ("The Last of Us"), based on the popular PlayStation game of the same name, considered the funniest series. of the year.
Gamers who play games on PlayStation systems are rarely specifically targeted by criminals. In addition, to infect victims with malware, criminals provide gamers with links to download games on PC, even if the game is not yet playable on PC.
It is expected that many viewers will want to start playing The Last of Us and controlling the behavior of their characters after watching the TV series. In this case, they are unlikely to know that the game is currently only available on the PlayStation platform and that the first part of the game will be released for PC only in March 2023.
Cybercriminals take advantage of the lack of public awareness. Kaspersky researchers discovered a website offering supposed "Part Two" downloads of a PC game and urging users, unaware that the PC version of the game is not available, to download a malicious file instead of the game. Really without knowing it. This malicious file can remain hidden on the computer for years undetected as the user does not notice any visible corruption while the file performs its hidden task.
Kaspersky researchers also discovered a phishing site offering game activation codes. Users are prompted to choose a "gift" they received within the game, for example a PlayStation 5 card or a $100 Roblox gift card for downloading a file with the code.
Users are also required to enter their account and card details in order to pay commissions, which puts them at risk of having their money stolen and their personal data later used in other fraudulent schemes if they provide such details.
Olga Svistunova, a digital security expert at Kaspersky, said that the (The Last of Us) series should make a breakthrough earlier this year, given the long-awaited expectations from millions of interested people around the world for many years to come. Globalism.
However, instead of following a deceptive scheme based on watching the series before its official broadcast date, cybercriminals chose a different path and distributed malicious files under the guise of the game.
“This graph shows that gamers, especially beginners who are not sufficiently aware of digital security and its importance when gaming, are part of the target group of cybercriminals and would be eager to find other ways to get rid of them,” Svistunova added.
Svistunova called on players to be vigilant, stressing the importance of checking if the game you want is already available on the platform, downloading games only from official app stores and using a strong security solution.
To avoid falling victim to malware and scams, Kaspersky advises users to avoid links that promise to preview movies or TV series and to contact the entertainment provider if they have any doubts about the authenticity of the content.
It is also advised to check the integrity of the site before entering any personal information and to use only official and trustworthy sites to watch or download movies, and to check the format of the URL and the spelling of the names of companies and platforms.
Kaspersky recommends paying attention to the extensions of downloaded files, for example, video files that do not have exe or msi extensions.