It was only four days ago that I warned you about scams linked to popular celebrities listed in security software company McAfee’s list of the ten most dangerous celebrities on the Internet.  These are people whose popularity is exploited by identity thieves and hackers who lure unsuspecting people through links in emails, social media and text messages relating to these celebrities to malware filled websites where they unknowingly download ransomware or keystroke logging malware that enables the identity thieves to steal all of the personal information from the victim’s computer, laptop, smartphone or other electronic device and use that information to make the person a victim of identity theft.  Whenever something or someone is of great interest to the public, scammers promptly capitalize on that interest to lure people into falling prey to online scams that promise to provide photos or information about the person or event and so it has been with the ten million dollar Paris jewel robbery of Kim Kardashian.  According to security software company, Norton, online scams related to Kim Kardashian increased by a startling 2,400% in just the first twenty-four hours following the robbery.  Emails, text messages and social media posting promising news about the robbery have been used to lure people into clicking on malware infested links. As an indication of the wide popularity of Kim Kardashian, these scams are appearing in English, French and German.

TIPS

Never click on links or download attachments unless you are absolutely sure that they are legitimate.  Merely because it appears that a friend is passing them on to you does not make them legitimate.  Your friend’s email or smartphone could have been hacked or your friend could unwittingly be passing on malware.  As for celebrity news, you should have a healthy mistrust of websites with which you are not entirely familiar.  If the information promised is legitimate, it will be able to be found in trustworthy news websites.  Finally make sure that you keep all of your electronic devices secure with anti-malware and anti-virus software and keep your security software current with the latest security patches.