With the release of the highly anticipated series “The Last of Us“, based on the award-winning PlayStation game of the same name, cybercriminals are already coming up with new plans to attack unsuspecting users. To infect victims with malware, they are offering fraudulent downloads of an unpublished version of the PC game for financial gain. From Kaspersky they explain the scam.
The new HBO series, The Last of Us, premiered last weekend and Kaspersky researchers found a new franchise-related hoax. Cyber criminals have created sites offering to download the game “The Last of Us Part II” for PCbut the game remains exclusive to PlayStation, with a PC release scheduled for March 2023. Taking advantage of this lack of information, scammers provide a malicious file instead of the actual game. This file can hide on your computer undetected for a long time; you won’t know something is wrong because it may not cause any visible damage, only to find out that your personal details have been used for another scam.
fake cover of the game offered by scammers
Kaspersky experts also discovered a phishing website offering an activation code for the game. To download the code file, users are invited to choose one of the “gifts” that they will receive along with the game: for example, to get a new PlayStation 5 console or a USD 100 Roblox gift card. After that, users are instructed to enter their credentials and bank card details to pay the commission fee. In fact, by giving your details to scammers, fans will be robbed of their money, while their personal details will later be used in other fraud schemes.
Screenshot of a fake download an activation code for the game
“The Last of Us is going to be a real boom in early 2023, considering how long millions of gaming fans have been waiting for the series. Interestingly, instead of offering early access to the series, cybercriminals have chosen a different path and are distributing files to gamers. This goes to show that gamers, especially new ones who don’t know enough about cybersecurity yet, are among the main target audience for cybercriminals, and they will find more and more ways to exploit them. Buy only from official app stores and don’t forget to use a reliable security solution“, warns Olga Svistunova, security expert at Kaspersky.
To avoid falling victim to malware and scams, Kaspersky recommends:
Avoid links that promise advance advances movies or TV shows. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the content, please search online at official stores and websites.
Verify the authenticity of the website before entering personal data and only use official and trusted pages to watch or download movies. Double check the URL formats and the spelling of your business name.
Pay attention to the extensions of the files you are downloading. a video file will never have an .exe or .msi extension.
Use a reliable security solution, such as those recommended by Kaspersky, which identify malicious attachments and block phishing websites.
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