Ethical Hacking News
Google has issued a stern warning to its users regarding the growing threat of cloaking scams, AI-driven fraud, and cryptocurrency schemes. The tech giant has revealed that bad actors are leveraging advanced techniques such as landing page cloaking to impersonate legitimate sites and conduct scams by creating a sense of urgency among users.
Google has issued a warning about growing threats from cloaking scams, AI-driven fraud, and cryptocurrency schemes. Cloaking is designed to evade moderation systems and teams, allowing scammers to deploy scams directly to unsuspecting users. The practice of cloaking manipulates search rankings and deceives users by serving different content to search engines and users. Other tactics used by fraudsters include misuse of AI tools for deepfakes, hyper-realistic impersonation, app clone scams, and capitalizing on major events. Google is taking steps to combat these threats, including blocking or removing violating ads, rolling out live scam detection in its Phone app, and introducing real-time alerts in Google Play Protect. The company has partnered with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and DNS Research Federation to tackle online scams. Google is also warning about cryptocurrency-related scams originating from Southeast Asia, particularly those run by organized crime syndicates from China.
Google has issued a stern warning to its users regarding the growing threat of cloaking scams, AI-driven fraud, and cryptocurrency schemes. The tech giant has revealed that bad actors are leveraging advanced techniques such as landing page cloaking to impersonate legitimate sites and conduct scams by creating a sense of urgency among users.
According to Laurie Richardson, VP and Head of Trust and Safety at Google, cloaking is specifically designed to prevent moderation systems and teams from reviewing policy-violating content. This enables scammers to deploy their scams directly to unsuspecting users. The landing pages often mimic well-known sites, making it difficult for users to distinguish between legitimate and fake websites.
The practice of cloaking refers to the act of serving different content to search engines like Google and users with the ultimate goal of manipulating search rankings and deceiving users. This technique has been adopted by various scammers to evade detection and scam users out of their money or personal data.
Google has also observed a trend wherein users clicking on ads are redirected via tracking templates to scareware sites that claim their devices are compromised with malware. These scareware sites trick users into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial details.
In addition to cloaking scams, Google has also identified other tactics adopted by fraudsters and cybercriminals. These include:
* Misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create deepfakes of public figures, taking advantage of their credibility and reach to conduct investment fraud
* Using hyper-realistic impersonation for bogus crypto investment schemes
* App and landing page clone scams that dupe users into visiting lookalike pages of their legitimate counterparts, leading to credential or data theft, malware downloads, and fraudulent purchases
* Capitalizing on major events and combining them with AI to defraud people or promote non-existent products and services
Google has also warned about the rise of new CRON#TRAP Malware that infects Windows by hiding in Linux VM to evade antivirus software.
To combat these threats, Google is taking several steps. The company has blocked or removed over 5.5 billion advertisements for violating its policies in 2023 alone. It is also rolling out live scam detection in its Phone app for Android, which uses its Gemini Nano on-device AI model to secure users against potential scams and fraud.
Another new security feature introduced by Google is real-time alerts in Google Play Protect, which notify users of potentially malicious apps installed on their devices.
The company has also partnered with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) and DNS Research Federation (DNS RF) to tackle online scams. Furthermore, Google has issued a statement warning about the dangers of cryptocurrency-related scams, particularly those originating from Southeast Asia, which are run by organized crime syndicates from China.
These scammers lure individuals with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be confined within scam factories located across Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has described the incorporation of generative AI and other technological advancements in cyber-enabled fraud as a "powerful force multiplier," making it more efficient but also lowering the bar for entry to technically less-savvy criminals.
Google has also taken action against two app developers based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, who distributed fake Android apps used to pull off consumer investment fraud schemes. The company has filed lawsuits against websites that sell and post fake reviews on Amazon and Google Maps.
In conclusion, Google's warning about the rising cloaking scams, AI-driven fraud, and cryptocurrency schemes serves as a reminder for users to be vigilant when interacting with online content. By being aware of these tactics and taking steps to protect themselves, users can reduce their risk of falling victim to these types of scams.
Related Information:
https://thehackernews.com/2024/11/google-warns-of-rising-cloaking-scams.html
https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/a-new-way-were-helping-others-track-frauds-and-scams-online/
https://thehackernews.com/2024/11/new-crontrap-malware-infects-windows-by.html
https://linuxsecurity.com/news/hackscracks/cron-trap-linux-malware-exposed
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexvakulov/2024/11/14/hackers-are-using-ai-against-you-here-is-how-to-protect-yourself/
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/fbi-just-issued-new-warning-over-ai-malware-attacks-how-to-stay-safe
Published: Thu Nov 14 09:53:26 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
