silversurfer
Level 85
Thread author
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Malware Hunter
Well-known
- Aug 17, 2014
- 10,176
A new Instagram phishing scam circulating the internet lures victims in with promises of exclusive “verified account” status – and then makes away with their personal information.
The scam centers around Instagram’s labeling of verified accounts, which indicates that the account user is a public figure, celebrity or global brand with blue checkmark. The exclusive status is highly desirable for Instagram users – and scammers are looking to take advantage of that with a new phishing scam aimed at the social media users, according to researchers.
“The lure of a social media verification checkmark symbol works great to entice unsuspecting victims. This is similar to the lure of ‘free’ (i.e nulled, cracked) products, like premium WordPress plugins or themes,” said researchers with Sucuri in a Wednesday post.
Luke Leal, researcher with Sucuri, told Threatpost that he believes the scam was being distributed through Instagram. The phishing page has been reported and removed, he said.
