Leading cybersecurity firm, ReasonLabs, has announced the discovery of an expansive cashback scam within torrented video game files. The malware apparently poses as Virtual Private Network (VPN) solutions, impacting users' devices to perform dubious financial activities and compromise personal information.
The malware was found primarily affecting internet users looking to download pirate copies of popular video games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Assassin's Creed among others. During the course of the investigation, malevolent actors were found targeting users' cashback activity to purloin sensitive, personal, and financial information. Furthermore, the malware revealed itself to users through a spurious installer tool, presenting itself as a standard VPN extension for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Once established, these VPN extensions prompt the installation of more malware without user consent or awareness, disarming existing user extensions centred on cashback activities and cybersecurity. Upon recognising these extensions, which were initially advertised as credible security tools on the Chrome web store, ReasonLabs urgently imparted the extent of the issue to Google for rectification.
ReasonLabs is a leading cybersecurity company equipping tens of millions of home users with the same level of cyber protection utilised by Fortune 500 companies. Its AI-powered, next-generation antivirus engine scans billions of files around the world to predict and prevent cyberattacks in real-time, 24/7.
Kobi Kalif, CEO and co-founder of ReasonLabs said, "The attraction of torrenting files such as video games, movies, TV shows, and other popular content is understandably strong, but this recent discovery underscores the necessity for consumers to download these items only from legitimate, reliable sources that prioritise security of their personal information." He also added, "Our research team endeavoured meticulously to detect the issue and work alongside Google to notify them and resolve the matter swiftly."
In order to bolster the protection of personal information, ReasonLabs has offered users various simple but effective advice to secure their sensitive data. This advice includes the use of trusted sources for downloading and accessing content, installing antivirus and antimalalware software on personal computers, making use of legitimate VPN tools, avoiding the act of clicking on unknown links or pop-ups, and initiating a two-factor authentication (2FA) process on their devices.
ReasonLabs is a vanguard in cybersecurity, providing tens of millions of domestic users with an equivalent level of cyber protection that is employed by Fortune 500 companies. The company's AI-powered, state-of-the-art antivirus engine scans billions of files worldwide to predict and battlement against cyberattacks in real-time, 24/7.