The Bureau cautioned folks to avoid storing sensitive images or videos on social media platforms.
By Catholics for Catholics
Forewarned is forearmed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning the public that evil actors are looking to illicitly access the personal accounts and social media of children and adults to rob explicit content.
According to a story by the Epoch Times, threat actors share the information in various forums or post it for sale in criminal marketplaces, the FBI said in an Aug. 10 public service announcement alert.
In some instances, private information such as names, phone numbers, social media usernames, and emails is posted alongside the explicit content. This bares these victims to re-victimization, including sextortion and harassment.
The malicious actors work something like this, according to the FBI—the first includes high-volume password and PIN attempts on targeted accounts.
Method number two entails imitating social media customer service. In this scheme, the criminals send text messages to targets, claiming their social media account is being locked up or disabled unless they provide a verification code.
The fraudsters then request a password reset for the social media account. When the verification code is shared, the threat actor can use it to reset the target’s account password and gain access.
A third scheme entails phishing, where domains and email accounts mimicking social media customer support are set up. The victims are notified about so-called new logins to their accounts via official-looking emails. The loaded emails include a malicious embedded link, asking targets to change their password. If the individual clicks on the link, the criminal gains access to their account.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
