For years, criminals have been tricking people into
performing embarrassing sexual acts on the internet, and then blackmailing them
with recordings. Now there's an Android app for this sort of extortion.
Trend Micro, global leader in cloud security, found
criminals have developed advanced mobile applications and tools that siphon
their victims' online passwords and contacts to increase the chance that they
will pay up. In a latest report ‘sextortion in the far east’, Trend Micro's
researchers detailed a new Android app that criminals are using to pressure
their victims into blackmail.
WHAT IS SEXTORTION?
It's the act of coercing cybercrime victims to
perform sexual favors or to pay large amounts of money in exchange for the
non-exposure of their explicit images, videos, or conversations.
Development in SEXTORTION
Cybercriminals lure, record, and threaten their
victims online, which includes a mobile malware component. During their chat or
Skype session, cybercriminals convince victims to install a data stealer or
disguised Android malware that steals victim data off their device.
Cybercriminals can then threaten their victims with the possibility of sending
the explicit content to their victim's contact list. The malware these
cybercriminals used are persistent and exhibit various intrusive behaviors.
Researchers found that the extortionists first lure
their victims through a number of online chatting tools. Once the trap is set,
they feign audio or messaging problems to persuade their target to download one
of four malicious Android apps. Using their email, social media and bank
accounts, Trend Micro traced several of the Android app developers and their
money go-betweens to China.
The company found evidence that the criminals opened
different bank accounts for each extortion campaign, which typically, lasted
for a few weeks.
"The extortion schemes we uncovered are complex
operations that involve people across cultures and nations working together to
run a lucrative business," Dhanya Thakkar, Managing Director- APAC, Trend
Micro said. He added, “These once again prove that cybercriminals are not just
becoming more technologically advanced— creating stealthier mobile data
stealers, using complex stolen data drop zone infrastructures, and outsmarting
banks to better evade detection—they are also improving their social
engineering tactics, specifically targeting those who would be most vulnerable
because of their culture.”
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