Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Facebook Virus Draining Bank Accounts

Zeus, a six-year-old virus is going strong thanks to Facebook. From what I've read, Facebook is aware of the virus and is not taking it very seriously. So, it comes down to you – which really, it should.

Mac OS X and Linux users, at ease. Zeus targets only Windows operating systems.

The virus spreads through phishing messages. Usually, it is part of link or ad posted by a friend that suggests you checkout an ad or video. BE CAUSIOUS AND ONLY CLICK LINKS YOU ARE SURE ABOUT.

The virus sits quietly for a while doing nothing, until you log into a bank account. Once you've successfully logged in, it steals you id and password. Then later, drains your account.

The Zeus virus has been around since 2007 and is hosted on computers controlled in Russia.

The sophistication of this virus is, well, amazing. It may put up a duplicate of your banks page to make you think you are logging into your bank's real website. It has also been known to grab your social security number, which is then sold on the black market. Also, once the virus has you, it will send messages through social media and email, in your name, trying to spread to new computers.

Bottom line – be wary of all messages that say, 'checkout this video,' DON'T CLICK THE LINK, unless you are absolutely sure of it's origin.

Note: the videos are almost always real and funny / cute / scary – something to grab your attention. Because they are real, you won't have any idea you're infected.

No comments:

Post a Comment