Threat Database Adware Your Device Might Have Security Issues Pop-up Scam

Your Device Might Have Security Issues Pop-up Scam

Infosec researchers have detected a group of websites that are running a 'Your Device Might Have Security Issues' pop-up scam. While this is a known technique employed by unscrupulous people to deliver barely-functional PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) to the unsuspecting users, this new tactic has a different end goal.

Users who land on any of the pages belonging to the 'Your Device Might Have Security Issues' pop-up scam will be presented with a message warning them that their systems might be at risk. The site will then 'helpfully' offer a list of software products that will supposedly be extremely effective at dealing with the detected issues. All that visitors have to do to access this list is to click the 'Allow' button. Doing so, however, will have a far different outcome than expected.

First, the deceiving website will redirect the user to a dedicated phishing page. The con operators can easily modify the phishing portal to harvest different user data types. The current page that users are being taken to is designed to siphon financial data specifically. It will offer users the chance to subscribe to a device security product. Following the instructions could result in the fraudsters obtaining all details entered by the user, as well as making weekly charges to the provided credit/debit cards.

Clicking the 'Allow' button has another consequence - users will be subscribed to the site's push notification services. In practice, this means that the website can now run an intrusive advertising campaign on the affected device, generating monetary gains for its creators in the process. The unwanted advertisements can take multiple forms and even begin to cover any other content viewed in the browser. Furthermore, users should exercise caution when interacting with the displayed advertisements - clicking on any of them could lead to questionable or outright unsafe third-party websites.

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