Eye to cheating on WhatsApp: million stolen data in Italy

Over the past week we have been two common scams in Italy by way of WhatsApp planned to exploit the weaknesses of the mass audience. The first, a traditional sale of the iPhone 6S "unsaleable" through the site "Avazon", the second one (false) promotion of the Zara clothing chain that would offer a coupon of 150 € value in exchange for completing a survey. In the latter case, cybercriminals aim to data collection and the subscription of paid subscriptions unsolicited.

A talk was the Facebook page One Life to social, initiative launched by the State Police in 2014 and aimed primarily at young audiences and less noticed in the use of web tools and Internet. The page explains the dynamics of the fraud. To receive the coupons, the user must answer a few questions: "Are you a client Zara?", "With that purchase frequency?", "How far away clothes from the store?". Questions that "could make sense," as the State Police.

Organize surveys to collect customer opinions is in fact part of the modus operandi of the larger companies and corporations, and that is why many users have fallen into the trap hatched by criminals, real ghosts according to the Authority. To spread fraud has devised a way to chain letter: to get it, "treasure", you need to share the survey with ten contacts, and then with ten other contacts yet.

Concluded the operations the user is informed of the exhaustion of coupons and conducted on a page of a site that offers the subscription of paid services, which can also be activated at the user's knowledge. Messages sent in the poll bounce from servers scattered all over Europe, with the criminals behind the scam that at the moment have not been identified. I snatched sensitive data, however, are "literally millions" according to the page.

It took to the field on the issue also Association of Content Service Providers (AssoCSP), which strongly condemns the unfair practices against the consumer to subscribe to value added services. Below is the press release issued by Raffaele Rossetti, President of the Association:

"We are not in front of the first case of misleading communications conveyed web, instant messaging or social network, captured the attention of the unaware user, then it proposes a subscription page subscription services with a charge on your phone bill. Fortunately , the flow introduced in October 2015, which provides a double-click confirmation in two different moments from the user to subscribe to a service, has prevented the spread of the phenomenon, greatly limiting their negative impact. However, the Association of Content service providers dissociates and strongly condemns these unfair practices towards consumers, having among its objectives to promote safe use and aware of the value-added services. All Associates are constantly trying to promote full transparency of promotional campaigns and flows communication towards users by providing clear information about the provider, the content of the service, the subscription price, payment of telephone bills and methods of activation / deactivation. We hope that all parties in the chain of this market must adapt and pursue their activities in accordance with those rules to consumers and we will continue with all the tests to ensure that these deceptive promotions are no longer tolerated. "

In conclusion we can only agree with the council launched by the State Police, however banal and obvious: DO NOT click, NOT share.