Press Center

ESET® spam filters detect a wave of scam emails luring internet users to buy luxury goods, mostly Ray-Ban sunglasses. The bogus websites where those heavily discounted fakes are offered, use no encryption and may be stealing victims’ payment card details. Previously ESET warned that this scam had largely targeted Facebook. 

“Those who enter their payment card data into these bogus website forms put their money at a serious risk,” says Lukáš Štefanko, ESET Malware Researcher. By adding email as an attack vector, the range of potential victims increases significantly. 

Over the last few months ESET researchers have detected tens of thousands of these scam emails. Parallel to adding email as a new attack vector, the criminals behind the scam have also extended their geographic reach. The bogus sunglasses stores often target particular countries using their respective currencies.

A few months ago they almost exclusively accepted US dollars, the Eurozone’s euro, British pounds, Canadian dollars and Australian dollars. However, the latest email spamming campaigns have been redirecting to pages that also accept less popular currencies such as the Brazilian Real, New Zealand dollars, Swedish kronor, Danish kroner, the Singapore dollar, Swiss francs, Norwegian kroner, and Czech koruna. 

“Internet users should not lose their security instincts when pursuing extremely cheap deals, be it for sunglasses or anything else. Your payment card details open your wallet – so think twice about entering them at websites that have suspicious addresses, offer suspiciously priced goods or use unsecured communications channels,” recommends ESET’s Lukáš Štefanko. 

ESET recommendations:

If you receive an email from an untrusted person with similar characteristics selling discounted goods: do not open any URL links, do not download any attachments and report the email as spam

If you are about to enter your payment card details: consider if the store is trustworthy and check if it uses encryption (there must be “https”, not “http” in the address bar)

In any case: follow basic rules for safe online behavior when using the internet; have your system up-to-date, use a quality security solution or, at least, in case of any suspicion use a free tool to scan your computer.

This article originally appeared on ESET’s blog WeLiveSecurity.com. 

About ESET
ESET®, the pioneer of proactive protection and the maker of the award-winning ESET NOD32® technology, is a global provider of security solutions for businesses and consumers. For over 26 years, the Company continues to lead the industry in proactive threat detection. By obtaining the 80th VB100 award in June 2013, ESET NOD32 technology holds the record number of Virus Bulletin "VB100” Awards, and has never missed a single “In-the-Wild” worm or virus since the inception of testing in 1998. In addition, ESET NOD32 technology holds the longest consecutive string of the VB100 awards of any AV vendor. ESET has also received a number of accolades from AV-Comparatives, AV-TEST and other testing organisations and reviews. ESET NOD32® Antivirus, ESET Smart Security®, ESET Cyber Security® (solution for Mac), ESET® Mobile Security and IT Security for Business are trusted by millions of global users and are among the most recommended security solutions in the world.

ESET recently updated its two-factor authentication (2FA) application, adding a secure validation to weak and static user passwords. This updated version of ESET’s 2FA application provides flexibility and deeper integration of 2FA into bespoke applications, making it the best cost-effective solutions for SMBs everywhere.

The Company has global headquarters in Bratislava (Slovakia), with regional distribution centers in San Diego (U.S.), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Singapore; with offices in Jena (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic) and Sao Paulo (Brazil). ESET has malware research centers in Bratislava, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Prague, Košice (Slovakia), Krakow (Poland), Montreal (Canada), Moscow (Russia) and an extensive partner network for more than 180 countries. For more information visit https://eset.version-2.sg/ or follow us on Facebook.

 

About Version 2 Limited
Version 2 Limited is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the Company develops and distributes IT products for Internet and IP-based networks, including communication systems, Internet software, security, network, and media products. Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 Limited offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which includes Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

Version 2 Limited.
For more information, please visit www.version-2.com.sg or call (65) 6296-4268.