AI-Powered Investment Scams Are on the Rise: 13K Fake Sites Detected in January
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Cybercrime experts detected and blocked almost 13,000 fake investment domains across more than 7,000 IPs in January 2024 alone, a 25% rise since December 2023.
The figure emerges amidst increasing worries about the rising danger of online investment scams, which continue to target unsuspecting victims globally.
The data released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveals that US consumers lost more than $4.6 billion to investment scams in 2023, a 21% increase over 2022 . “Digital tools are making it easier than ever to target hard-working Americans,’’ said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a press release.
One common technique outlined in the advisory was enticing users into joining fake investment advisory groups on platforms like Meta, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
The self-proclaimed “experts” or “financial analysts” in these groups advertising investment opportunities are often bots that follow a scripted conversation. The bots are designed to provide legitimacy and create an illusion of risk-free profitability.
Neobank and Fintech company Revolut also stated that the origin of 60% of its UK scams in 2023 took place via Meta . In early 2023, Barclays Bank revealed that more than 70% of scams were happening via social media, online marketplaces, and dating apps.
Additionally, scammers have also been observed using phishing emails to entice victims. Promising high returns, these emails contain malicious links to fake investment platforms. Though these cloned financial sites seem legitimate, they are filled with warning signs, such as a tiered investment structure and unrealistic promise of return on investment (ROI).
Another sophisticated tactic is where investment scams are combined with advance fee fraud. The victim is tricked into making an upfront payment in lieu of accessing substantial inheritance funds.
Many fake investment platforms discovered by Netcraft contained professional-looking financial dashboards. The scammers were seen using different manipulation techniques, thus creating an illusion of real trading activity designed to lure victims into making large investments.
“Regardless of the tactics adopted, once the victim invests heavily and then attempts to withdraw a large amount of funds, the site operator or account manager will present excuses to explain why this is not possible […] leaving the victim massively out of pocket,’’ Netcraft’s advisory reads.
The increasing prevalence of online investment scams necessitates the deployment of robust security measures, including awareness to identify and safeguard oneself against the cyber fraud tactics used by the scammers.
New Chrome Update Blocks 25% More Phishing Attempts
- Written by Elijah Ugoh Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Google introduced real-time Safe Browsing protections in Chrome this week. The update will display warnings about potentially hazardous websites and block 25% more phishing attempts in real-time, according to the brief announcement made last week.
This new feature is available to Chrome users on desktop or iOS platforms and will be rolled out on Android later this month. Google also introduced new password protections for Chrome users on iOS.
Chrome browser already has a Safe Browsing feature, which protects Chrome users against phishing, malware, and harmful software. This feature “assesses more than 10 billion URLs and files every day, showing more than 3 million user warnings for potential threats”, according to Google.
Safe Browsing’s “Standard Protection” mode previously used a list of harmful URLs that are stored on a user’s device to check if a site or file was dangerous or not. That list is updated every 30 to 60 minutes, but Google now acknowledges that the average malicious site actually exists for less than 10 minutes.
This made Safe Browsing somewhat slower in protecting users from malicious sites in real time. “As attackers grow more sophisticated, we’ve seen the need for protections that can adapt as quickly as the threats they defend against,” says Google in a security blog post .
“Not all devices have the resources necessary to maintain this growing list, nor are they always able to receive and apply updates to the list at the frequency necessary to benefit from full protection,” it added.
The standard protection mode for Chrome on desktop and iOS will now check sites against “Google’s server-side list of known bad sites in real-time.” If Google suspects a site poses a risk to the user, it will display a warning with more information that explains these risks.
Google adds that this will require some additional power from the Chrome browser, but it has adequately accounted for that to ensure users can still browse smoothly on Chrome.
Users can also get more protection by opting for “Enhanced Protection” mode in Safe Browsing settings. Enhanced Protection uses AI to block attacks, provides deep file scans, and offers extra protection from malicious Chrome extensions. However, it requires users to send their browsing history to Google.
