In the last few years security researchers discovered an increasing number of fake VPN services that trick users into paying for counterfeit privacy protection.
Fake VPN Service Proliferate Online
Computer hackers continuously attempt to trick users into various types of scams. One of the most dangerous ones is the advertisement of counterfeit services. The malicious users are skilled in web design which has allowed them to employ two different strategies:
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Sites That Pose As a Legitimate Service – The hackers design sites that look exactly like famous services. Only subtle name differences can help in spotting them.
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Hacker-Controlled Services – They appear as legitimate companies and may provide the same amount of features and support.
The consequences of using such services can be devastating to the victims. They include the following dangers:
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Payment Scams – As the sites are controlled by malicious users they may abuse the payment cards and other methods to gain large amounts of money without providing a service at all.
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Account Credentials Abuse – The hackers can attempt to initiate fraud using the provided account credentials. This is usually done in an automated manner by using the given information and then attempting to login to various social networks, banks, email providers and other online services.
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Data Hijacking – The hackers can analyze the traffic that is routed through their services. This is a very effective way of launching man-in-the-middle attacks or spying on the victims.
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Malware Infections – The network stream can be manipulated to deliver dangerous malware.
The Fake VPN Service MySafeVPN
Specialists discovered a hacker-controlled service which claims to be affiliated with Plex, one of the most widely used media streaming products. The site is being marketed via email messages that are sent to various internet users. Various experts and Plex staff confirmed that this is a scam site and that is not affiliated with their services. Going back a few years ago a similar incident was reported in 2015 when counterfeit VPN services imitated another affiliate partner. It appears that the email addresses were harvested from leaked databases, some of which originate from the Plex forums breach that occurred in 2015.
Such Fake VPN Services Will Probably Continue To Operate
One of the reasons why such scams continue to spread is that its generally not very easy for ordinary users to verify if the internet companies are legitimate. Its a widely known fact that using such services is a popular way of going around certain geographic limitations, for example viewing Netflix in countries where it is not available. VPN’s are also used by computer users to attempt and hide their identity when downloading pirate files or distribute ilegal content. Various privacy concerns are also a commonly used concern when it comes to using such products.
USA Congress Legislations Boosts Fake VPN Services Creation
Two weeks ago The USA Congress voted to remove the FCC regulations that prevented Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from selling personal browser history data to third party partners. The bill was signed by President Donald Trump and as a result consumer interest into VPN services grew exponentially. Security experts presume that this is a major cause for the proliferation of new scam sites.
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Protect yourself! The use of counterfeit services can lead to malware infections, data theft and other serious crimes. We recommend that all of our users employ an advanced anti-malware solution which will be able to protect themselves from danger even if their traffic is routed through malicious networks. Using such products can help to defend their computers from viruses that may be launched against them. |
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