Beware! WhatsApp messages offering 1000GB free internet data to stay at home a scam

Screenshot of the message doing rounds on WhatsApp offering “1000GB free Internet data to stay at home safely” during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Morung Photo/Screenshot)

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 23

Have you received a WhatsApp message offering 1000GB free Internet data? Beware, as it is a scam that is spreading fast.

 

Such messages are regularly employed by fraudsters to apparently to “racking up bogus ad clicks that ultimately bring revenues for the operators of any given campaign," according to cybersecurity firm ESET.

 

With the outbreak of COVID-10 and apparent global lockdown, the fraudsters are back again.

 

Modus operandi

 

The latest WhatsApp-themed scam doing the rounds promises “1000GB free Internet data to stay at home safely.” 

 

“To counter the Coronavirus, we offer you 1000GB of free internet connection to stay at home safely and enjoy the internet...”  Users are given a link to activate the free 1000 GB internet. 

Once the user click the link, there are made to go through series of series of questions in the form of a survey on COVID.

After answering the questions, the users are made to” invite 20 friends Or invite 5 groups to stay at home (sic).”

Needless to say, users cannot claim the ‘free internet’ if they don’t share the link as directed.

 

Recurring scam

A message of similar nature but for a different campaign made the rounds last year in July, according to news reports.

 

The IANS news agency then reported that “Researchers from cybersecurity firm ESET have received a message on WhatsApp stating that the app was giving away 1000 GB of internet data to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.”

 

“The fraudulent campaign is hosted by a domain that is home to yet more bogus offers pretending to come from other well-known brands. What strikes us right off the bat here is that the URL that comes with the message is not an official WhatsApp domain," the report said quoting the researchers’ statement in a blog post.

 

 Even though businesses may sometimes run promotions through third parties, the rule of thumb here is to check on the company's website to make sure any promotion is real and valid, it added.

 

The researchers further said if people were to click on the link, they would be taken to a page that invites them to answer a series of questions in the form of a survey -- ranging from how they found the offer to their opinion on the app.

 

 "While you would be responding to the questionnaire, the site would invite you to pass along the offer to at least 30 more people in order to qualify for the big reward'. Needless to say, this is merely a way to boost the campaign's reach," said the researchers.

 

What are the fraudsters running this WhatsApp-themed scam looking to gain from it?

" Apparently, their goal here is click fraud - a highly prevalent monetization scheme that relies on racking up bogus ad clicks that ultimately bring revenues for the operators of any given campaign," warned ESET.

 

According to IANS, a similar WhatsApp-themed scam made the rounds that promised to unlock free Internet access in 2017.

 

The same domain that hosts this scam is also home to many other offers, each pretending to come from a different company, including Adidas, Nestle and Rolex, to name but a few, it said.

 

In reality, users ended up on sites that signed them up for premium and costly SMS services or installed third-party apps on their smartphones.

 

"In 2018, perhaps the same fraudsters used 'free Adidas shoes' as the bait. Regardless of the tune, the end goal was invariably the same -- give the scammers an easy way to line their pockets," said the researchers.