Anyone with a printer needs to be on high alert if anything goes wrong.
If you have a printer tucked in your home office then you might want to take note of a new warning. The security team at Malwarebytes says it has spotted a worrying trend that’s using these popular accessories to target unsuspecting consumers. Printers appear to be on the hitlist due to how many people own them and how often they go wrong.
That gives crooks the perfect recipe to try and steal data, money and infect devices with vicious malware. The latest attacks start with fake adverts that pop up on search engines when owners are looking for technical support. If clicked, users are then whisked to ‘dodgy’ websites where they are asked to fill in data such as the make and model of the printer.
All appears perfectly normal with a message popping up that suggests a simple download will fix the problem. However, when the installation process begins an error appears suggesting that a chat with an agent is then needed.
It’s here where things get sinister. The cyber crooks then take over and attempt to get people to ring a call centre, once connected with an ‘agent’ they ask for permission to take over the PC in a bid to fix things.
Instead of sorting the printer, all they actually do is fill it full of nasty malware which is capable of stealing data including banking credentials.
“It is quite common for scammers to request and be granted remote access to the user’s computer. This gives them leverage to do a number of things, such as stealing data, locking the machine or even using it to log into the victim’s bank account.
“This is why it is so important to be extremely cautious with online search ads, and search results in general.”
If you need help with a printer issue, be aware when searching for help online. You are always best to head directly to the manufacturer’s own website or take the printer back to where you bought it.
“There are many people that fall for these types of scams and entire armies of tech support agents working in poor conditions ready to defraud them,” added Malwarebytes.
“The script is usually standard across scams, with the support agent impersonating a popular brand and requesting personal information from the victim.”
