Hyderabad: Are you being sent messages which are going viral on Whatsapp announcing free shoe offer from Nike or high end smart phones costing less than Rs 500? Be careful, you may become a victim of malware which can assist hackers to access your phone or computer. The messages include tiny URLs which redirect the users to unfamiliar websites having either malware or survey forms.
Most of the messages insist that mobile users register with unfamiliar websites to claim the offer. When the user follows the directions, another page asks the user to share the same message with eight to ten Whatsapp groups for reaching final step. When the user follows the same, the final step will not be redirected to any page and the link will be broken. Sytech Labs CEO and cybercrime investigator Sandeep Mudalkar said that there is 50 per cent chance of malware attack on the devices (mobile or computer) of the user. “Spammers are always looking for new ways to infiltrate your e-mail inbox, Whatsapp and social media. It appears that many are now seizing on tiny URLs, or shorter versions of long web addresses. Apart from Whatsapp, hackers also use emails,” he said.
As per a recent survey, about five billion spam messages roam the net every day worldwide. “Besides malware, most of the web developers lure netizens for surveys. Online survey organisations have been concentrating on India because most of the netizens do not have knowledge of such frauds and the victims simply forget the matter after they realise the offer was fake rather than approaching an investigative agencies to complain against the survey firms,” he said.
Freelance web developer Shyam Raula from Nagole said that some websites, which offer hits and clicks on ads for any website by charging an amount, create fake messages. “Hits on a website are manipulated. Renowned third-party advertisers like Google changes algorithms month by month but these sites try to increase clicks on ads from different locations of the world by sending messages with fake offers,” he said.
