What is the issue?
Tech support scammers are using iframes to lock web browsers and tricking users into calling their fake support hotlines disguised as legitimate services to get their computers fixed.
The big picture
A security researcher from Trend Micro, Samuel P Wang uncovered a new technical support scam (TSS) campaign that attempts to pass up the scammers’ fake support hotline as an official Microsoft support one.
“Its URLs show a webpage disguised to look like a typical Microsoft tech support page. However, it hides several different functions. Entering any of the involved URLs will open two pop-up windows: One that asks for user authentication and another that simply urges users to ask for technical support. By then the user has unknowingly entered a loop,” Wang said.
How does this work
In a typical TSS campaign, cybercriminals use the basic JavaScript codes to put the users in a loop, wherein clicking on any pop-up button would simply take them back to the same pop-up page.
Worth noting?
Trend Micro recorded that the URLs related to this campaign have been visited almost 575 times in a day
What you should do
“Fortunately, the success of TSS attacks largely depends on how users respond to their tricks. As has been highlighted in this new campaign, users can look out for suspicious characteristics of a webpage, such as unfamiliar URLs, pop-ups asking for authentication, or any sort of information and messages that raise panic and alarm,” the researcher said in a blog.
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