A new fraudulent scheme through fake job advertisements is gaining momentum on the Internet. The victims of cybercriminals are people who post vacancies on specialized sites, after which their data, including e-mail and phone number, are made publicly available. However, any Internet user looking for vacancies can get hooked by such scammers.
How do scammers work?
Job search sites post ads with interesting vacancies, for example, the following:
“Application tester from Google Play. No experience required. Salary: 200-250 rubles / hour “.
After contacting the “employer”, the user is sent a link to download the Pushbullet application from GooglePlay, and then asked to register in it and configure it properly. As soon as he does everything according to the instructions, the “employer” suddenly stops communicating. The user does not even realize that he has become a victim of scammers who now use the application to intercept notifications from his phone, including transaction confirmation codes. Thus, they can easily transfer money from their bank cards.
There are cases when scammers themselves send SMS messages with job offers. They find phone numbers on specialized sites where people post job search ads, and in databases with vacancies. In this case, the victim is also asked to download the Pushbullet application and enter the username and password that are indicated to him. After that, the phone is synchronized with the fraudster’s computer, he gets access to it, can remotely call, read and send SMS.
What kind of app is Pushbullet?
Pushbullet is a popular service that lets you share content between devices. It can display notifications from a smartphone on a computer, transfer notes, links, files, contacts, and even the contents of the clipboard. This is a unique service of its kind that works on many platforms. However, all these features require a number of conditions: firstly, all devices must be logged into the same account (which is what scammers do), and secondly, the smartphone application must be given access to almost the entire set of permissions.
All these actions should alert users. In no case should you enter other people’s logins and passwords in the Pushbullet app, and it is better not to install it at all, if there is no such need. It is also advisable to avoid suspicious job offers where you need to follow links and download unknown applications.
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