Affiliate marketing sites are the final destination for three-quarters of Facebook scams, according to research released yesterday.
by Commtouch Internet Threat Trends Reporta year-end overview of Internet threats, shows that visitors to these Facebook-promoted fraudulent sites are lured into completing surveys that generate affiliate payments to scammers, and legitimate businesses that pay affiliate fees are harmed. Masu.
Users click on scams through a variety of social engineering tactics, including offers for free products, celebrity news, a new (fake) Facebook application, or a trusted friend who simply sends a message saying “This is a must-see!” be guided to do so. says the report.
After a user first clicks on a scam, malware or malicious scripts are responsible for further spread in just over half of the scams analyzed, the study says. He says these exploits fall into three main categories: likejacking, rogue applications, malware or “self-XSS”.
According to Comtouch, in 48% of cases, unknowing users themselves are responsible for distributing unwanted content by clicking the “Like” or “Share” button.
“Facebook scammers are looking to make money, and affiliate marketing is a rich source of information,” Amir Lev, ComTouch's chief technology officer, said in a statement. “The same social engineering techniques that malware distributors and spammers have used for years to trick people into opening unsolicited emails or clicking malicious links are now being used on Facebook and other popular social networks. It is being used to gain illicit profits.”
In addition to Facebook threats, this report also covers web threats, phishing, malware, and spam throughout the year. The report's content is based on data from ComTouch's GlobalView Network, which tracks and analyzes billions of internet transactions every day.
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