The fake apps promise to help users increase the number of followers for free, actually acquiring their login credentials to the social network
Unfortunately, the attacks of hackers do not subside and they develop systems that are increasingly insidious and difficult to flush out. As in the last case discovered by Intel Security. Some engineers of the American company have in fact discovered apps that steal personal data.
So there is a new alarm that endangers the immense amount of information that mobile devices contain today. To be affected by this new phishing attempt are mainly Android users. According to Intel Security's team of experts, the fraudulent data acquisition would in fact be put into practice by some applications available on the Google Play Store, the digital store of the green robot. From the name of the apps in question, everything suggests that the scam is actually aimed at Turkish Instagram users. However, since they are available on the Android market, everyone can potentially access the programs.
How the Instagram app phishing attack works
The operation of the new phishing attempt, as seen, aims at stealing Instagram login credentials. Less attentive users are pushed into the hackers' trap in a sneaky way. In fact, free apps promise to increase the number of followers, which for some people is really important. Once downloaded, the app asks users to enter their username and password. At this point for hackers to steal the data is child's play. La falsa applicazione invia infatti le informazioni trafugate direttamente nelle mani degli autori del malware.
Come difendersi dall’attacco phishing
Come suggeriscono gli esperti, il problema non è circoscritto solamente a Instagram, ma rischia di avere delle conseguenze più ampie. Un numero elevato di persone infatti usa sempre le stesse credenziali – soprattutto la password – per accedere a diversi siti internet. Il consiglio in questo caso dunque è sempre lo stesso: bisogna evitare di utilizzare sempre la stessa password. Ci sono infatti dei password manager che aiutano a memorizzare più chiavi di accesso.
Fonte foto: Shutterstock
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