Scam Alert: Beware of Google scam ads promoting fake installers for popular programs

ESET, an Eastern European cybersecurity software company, has found a malware campaign that had been targeting Chinese-speaking people in Malaysia, along with other countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia. It seems as though these scammers had been running Google Ads targeting people who search up for popular applications, pushing for their ad spots to appear on top of legitimate search results and getting users to click on their fake website.

Specifically, they’ve been creating fake websites that look identical to the websites of popular programs and softwares, such as Google Chrome, WhatsApp, Signal, Skype, Telegram and more. People who search these up and click on their Google Ad rather than the actual website will then be greeted by a look-a-like website that offers a download to the program that they had been looking for. However, when they download the installer, what they’ll get instead is a Trojanised installer containing the virus FatalRAT.

FatalRAT is a remote access Trojan that would grant the hacker access and control to the victim’s computer. It gives the hacker a bunch of functionalities to perform malicious tasks, such as capture your keystrokes, steal or even delete data stored on your computer, as well as download and execute files. ESET found that the malware campaign had been going on between August 2022 till January 2023, but curiously these Trojanised installers have been seen in the wild since at least May 2022.

Incidentally, all of these fake websites ended up pointing to he same IP address, a server hosting the Trojanised software. These websites seemingly targeted Chinese-speaking users in particular, by claiming to offer Chinese-language versions of software that isn’t available in China. ESET has since reported these scam ads to Google, who then removed them.

As a general rule of thumb, you should always pay attention to the address bar in your browser to ensure that you’re at a legitimate website rather than a fake one. Furthermore, when you download files, always double check that you’re getting the files you intended to download. If you do find out that you’ve been scammed, you can dial 997 to contact the National Scam Response Center, which was set up last October to coordinate a rapid response specifically for online financial scams.

Recent Posts

Every Transaction Could Make You a Monthly Millionaire – Here’s How with Maybank’s MAE

This post is brought to you by Maybank. Unlock more than just transactions with MAE’s…

9 hours ago

Oppo Find X8 series: Launching in Malaysia on 30th November 2024, priced from RM3,699

After making its debut in China late last month, the Oppo Find X8 series has…

13 hours ago

Hyundai Ioniq 9: The brand’s first 3-row electric SUV, offers up to 429hp and 620km of range

Hyundai has officially unveiled the new Ioniq 9 which marked yet another expansion to its…

14 hours ago

BMW Group leads Malaysia’s premium EV segment, long term certainty needed for local assembly

BMW Group remains bullish in its commitment to drive sustainable mobility across the Southeast Asian…

21 hours ago

Dongfeng Box Malaysia: First public test drive event is happening on 23 to 24 Nov

After completing its 45,000km road test in Malaysia earlier this year, Dongfeng Box will finally…

1 day ago

Take control of your health: Meet the medically certified HUAWEI WATCH D2 with Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

This post is brought to you by HUAWEI. Hypertension is a significant global health concern,…

2 days ago

This website uses cookies.