Search-Related Frauds Attack Music Enthusiasts

PC Tools a security software firm in San Francisco is warning that fresh scams are attacking fans of the music band SxSW (South by Southwest) as well as the Duran Duran, The Strokes and Cee Lo Green festival acts. Kxan.com reported this, dated March 15, 2011.

Apparently, the fresh search-based scams include genuine-appearing Internet sites offering low-priced alternatively zero-priced music downloads. Reportedly, an online hunt for "Cee Lo Green, Forget You" returned zero-cost download sites, which so effectively duped users that they willingly gave away their debit or credit card details alternatively, persuaded them enough for loading scareware after informing them that infection had set on their PCs.

Additionally, during an online hunt for "Duran Duran," the high-ranking hits contained genuine-looking ads, which diverted users onto rogueware sites such as "Enter to win contest," "Take this quiz to win" or "Get free lyrics." This seeding method with online searches or ad returns fools Web-surfers as well as attacks their computers with malware, published Prenewswire.com in news on March 15, 2011.

Moreover, cyber crooks are also utilizing pictorial searches as a fresh method for striking end-users' computers. An online hunt for a famous personality, band name or singer returns top results featuring pictures, which possibly contain viruses or web-links leading onto malevolent sites. Clicking on these pictures causes the user to unwittingly download malware that becomes active on his computer.

Lately, according to the bbc.co.uk reports on March 4, 2011, searches related to Reading Festival tickets, concert organizers and Detectives, detected 3 fresh frauds. Music fans and festival attendees require being extra vigilant so far as buying tickets online is concerned. Nick Downing, Detective Chief Inspector said that the scam artists were getting ever-more refined in their tactics, utilizing encryption on bogus Internet sites towards making would-be buyers feel falsely secured.

Moreover, according to Detectives, scamsters are replicating the yellow colored safety padlock for so enticing enthusiasts that they believe their payments are safe.

Meanwhile, for alerting music-lovers on safety, PC Tools states that they must solely follow web-links that are wholly trustworthy. Also they must remember that no web-link returned from searches that's sponsored, guarantees genuineness.

Related article: Surge in Spam attack

» SPAMfighter News - 3/24/2011