A new scam is currently spreading on Facebook, UFC-Que Choisir reported on Friday, September 24, 2021. According to the consumer advocacy association, hackers are trying to: trap social network users with a mock Decathlon competition. Scammers claim to be offering gift cards worth up to €10,000 to celebrate the sporting goods brand’s 50th anniversary. Remember that Decathlon is still only 45 years old.
Using hacked Facebook accounts, hackers communicate with their targets directly via Messenger. Message Redirecting internet users to a phishing website. This site is designed solely to collect users’ personal data. To receive the fictitious gift cards, Internet users will be asked to answer a series of questions about both Decathlon and themselves.
Another phishing attack spreads on Facebook
After these steps are completed, a message appears on the screen: “vYou have won a gift card worth 1,000 Euros”. However, to claim your reward you must: Share this promotional offer with 20 friends or 5 contact groups. If you don’t comply, hackers will block the user from claiming the gift card. This process allows fraudsters to attract other targets into their network.
Data recovered by hackers can then be resold on dark web black markets or Exploited to distribute computer attacks. “It is strongly recommended that you do not distribute content from people you do not know, or even transfer your personal data to unknown websites.”, warns UFC-Que Choisir. This isn’t the first time this type of scam has spread online. A few years ago, a fake Ikea contest promised WhatsApp users 500 euros worth of vouchers to steal their data.
Decathlon also confirms that this operation has nothing to do with its services: “IThese are fraud attempts that are completely outside of Decathlon and we could not foresee. We monitor social networks and the internet. When we detect [une arnaque], To avoid the number of clicks (complaints to social networks, official notifications to the technical operators responsible for putting the content online) we take action to make it inaccessible as quickly as possible.
Source : UFC-Que Chorus
