Recently, Kaspersky has alerted the people about malicious links shared on Facebook Messenger intended to increase revenue by tracking browser history and displaying advertisement. The key concern is that the links are shared by your friends and make you believe on the authenticity of the links.
The senior security researchers at Kaspersky explains it further “The link appears quite interesting to you like your friend Camaron had forwarded it then it will be text as “camaron video”. Captivating text makes you to click on it and watch the video. When you click on the link it will redirect you to Google docs page showing the screenshot captured photo of your friend in motion movie. Clicking further will redirect you to a fake websites based on your browser, track your activities and shows some advertisements. He adds further The code is complex and confusing and unable to track.”
For example, you are sent to a website which appears similar to youtube because of same logo and branding. The website tricks the visitor by showing error message and asks you to download a malicious extension from google web store. This is how the things got done by the fake link.
Most attentive thing in whole process is that the link is forwarded to you by one of your close friend. Jacob says on the issue that people, behind the picture, are making huge money by showing ads and the cybercriminals are not yet caught. So it is advisable to pay heed on the links and avoid clicking on them.
