The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has warned of a rise in cases of misappropriation of social media account access credentials, leading to the promotion of fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms or demands for ransom from users.
According to a note published this week by the PGR Cybercrime Directorate, the social networks most affected by this “theft” of access data are Instagram and Facebook, in which criminals, having gained access to accounts, change the credentials and associated contacts , thereby making it impossible for the user to log in or regain access.
“Criminal agents send the account owner an email or WhatsApp message that purports to be from Facebook or Instagram support or security. If the victim responds by providing their credentials and, above all, sending the security code you received to your mobile phone, criminal agents can generate a new “password” to access and gain access to the account.”
Criminals are mainly looking for the accounts of so-called “influencers” and content producers on social networks, whose online activities lead to economic income, as well as online trading businesses. At the same time, the Office for Combating Cybercrime notes that “this situation has caused irreparable damage to some of these pages and these enterprises.”
“As for Facebook and Instagram accounts, in a large number of identified cases they are used to distribute advertising messages on cryptocurrency investment platforms. These are invariably fraudulent platforms,” the notice said.
“In many other cases, the account owner has been approached by criminals and demanded a ransom to get back the account credentials,” he adds.
According to the published note, the criminals appear to have ties to Russia or West Africa (though they have also been found in other international regions) and take advantage of the “great ease” of accessing accounts across devices, as well as the “almost instinctive impulse to respond immediately.” to electronic messages” related to possible security issues.
“Messages like the ones described above asking for account authentication information should be carefully evaluated. The “links” indicated in them must be carefully checked. If messages seem dubious, they should not be responded to; such messages must first be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office or the criminal police,” concludes the PGR Cybercrime Directorate.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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