Olympic Ticket Scams are Stealing Big Money

As happened with the World Cup in Brazil, cybercriminals are exploiting the 2016 Summer Olympics set to begin this summer. Kaspersky Lab researchers reported seeing a spike in various phishing attacks, spam, and email scams that are using the 2016 event as a hook.

Domain names that contain something related to the big event in Rio are being purchased, as well as cheap SSL certificates to make them seem legitimate and safer upon visiting the sites. The most effective scams being seen by the researchers involve phishing websites that appear as if they are ticket sales sites.

If you receive email messages claiming to offer deals to the events, check and recheck before clicking on links or opening attachments. In fact, go directly to a reputable website instead by manually typing in the address. Don’t open attachments, especially if they are unexpected or from unknown senders. Pay attention to the deals offered and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Also watch out for malvertising. These are malicious ads that appear on other websites, but if they’re clicked they execute malware of some type. These ads can be found on every type of site, including but certainly not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and even news sites. To avoid these ads, consider installing ad-blocking software. Just remember that they block all ads, not just malicious ones.

Always watch for scams and phishing when a big event such as the Olympics, Super Bowl, or World Cup is nearing. Cybercriminals know people will be hunting around the web for deals or looking for information, so they will certainly take advantage of that.

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