Social Network Scams Now Boasting Osama Fascinators

Breaking news of all sorts (preferably spiced up with breaking and entering details) is there to keep us all glued to our computers/ tv sets. Whether it’s somebody getting married or somebody else getting killed (yes, that’s where this weird juxtaposition of a title comes from) it’s all about how much attention the event is likely to spur.

When reading reports about the recent royal wedding, among the various accoutrements that the nice ladies put on for the festive event, I couldn’t help noticing (who could, after all?) the fascinator trend. As you may well know, this is a headpiece, a surprisingly shaped garment that ladies wear on their heads with the not so well concealed intent of ….fascinating the onlookers. 

Whether reminiscent of the cyclop or of the unicorn tradition, these eccentric hats could easily become the symbol of any respectable guild of social engineers. Beads? We’ve got a famous person’s name! Feathers? No problem, we’ll just spice it up with an “unedited version” warning” (“sin censura”, as in the first example below, is even more dramatic). Deftly place the delicate arrangement on top of video content and there’s your nice scam coiffed and ready to go.

 

               

If the macabre fascinator manages to mesmerize you, then you’re in for a classic “copy/paste code” treatment.

Two clicks later, you find yourselves face to face with the beast:

And that’s where the adventure ends. This scam, as many others before it, will flood your friends’ wall with automatic messages that advertise its existence and ensure its longevity.

To give you an idea about the proportions of this phenomenon, 11.21% of the scams detected by BitDefender safego in the past 24 hours are Osama-themed ones.

Don’t forget hat BitDefender safego is there to keep your accounts safe from harm. As always, beware of links allegedly leading to shocking content and check your profiles regularly for any automatic posts, likes that you don’t remember having expressed, tags that you did not place on your photos or events that you did not create, but appear as having been initiated by you. You might also want to keep in mind our advice on how to tell a good app from a bad one.

Safe sharing, everyone!

This article is based on the technical information provided courtesy of George Petre, BitDefender Threat Intelligence Team Leader

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