Kaspersky experts warn against a new wave of phishing scams on LinkedIn targeting people in the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region, with the promise of a dream job. Specifically, cybercriminals focus on users from the UAE, Turkiye and Nigeria.

Cybercriminals posing as HR managers from high end fashion brands are luring victims to download fraudulent files with the intent to steal credentials for Facebook Business accounts and run ads for monetary gain.

People working in the field of digital marketing and sales are prime targets for this scam. As a first step, the scammers proactively contact victims on LinkedIn highlighting a lucrative salary package for a job role.

After gauging the victim’s interest, the scammers share a malicious link and persuade candidates to download documents related to the job from a cloud storage platform to successfully meet their objective. Upon investigating the malicious files, Kaspersky experts found that scammers were using a malware named Ducktail to infiltrate devices.

Ducktail is designed to steal user logins and passwords for Facebook Business accounts and uses stealthy techniques to remain undetected. The scam is targeted at the META region, with detections in the UAE, Turkey, Iraq, Nigeria and Lebanon.

Sharing her experience to warn people of this ongoing scam, Hiba Safadi, Marketing Manager from the UAE said; “When the recruiter contacted me, I was intrigued. To know if he was genuine, I checked his LinkedIn profile which seemed authentic because it had a picture, testimonies etc.

“As we continued our conversation, he repeatedly insisted that I download some files related to the job, and this is when I felt something was off. Since I did not comply, he deliberately started mentioning the salary package to convince me into downloading the files, and this was the second red flag.”

Amin Hasbini, Head of Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), for META at Kaspersky, said; “This is not the first time Ducktail malware has made a comeback. Enticing people with a dream job that includes a hefty remuneration is a classic example of a social engineering tactic commonly used by scammers.

Scammers are capable of communicating from accounts that look like corporate addresses, but in reality are compromised or from free email services or phishing domains. We understand it is very difficult to constantly be on alert, but it is necessary to remain cautious and take basic measures into consideration.

For example, understand how the recruiter found you, research the employer, make sure you have a security solution installed, and most importantly, avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or suspicious senders.”

Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce giant, has pledged huge savings and more importantly, same day delivery for shoppers in the second edition of the much-anticipated Mid-Year Shopping Festival.

Widely regarded as the biggest discount sale in the first half of the year, Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival kicks off formally on Tuesday, May 30 and will run through Friday, June 30, 2023 online at www.konga.com and offline in every Konga store nationwide.

An annual promotion, the month-long fiesta coincides with the celebration of Konga’s 11th anniversary, with the management of the e-commerce giant also seizing the opportunity to roll out KongaNow, its same day delivery initiative through which shoppers can get their verified items delivered within one to six hours.

All products tagged KongaNow on the Konga website are available for immediate delivery, provided orders are placed before 2pm daily.

Alternatively, shoppers can access www.konga.com/konga/now to select from a wide array of genuine high and medium-value items across categories.

Meanwhile, a variety of exciting offers have been lined up for shoppers throughout the month-long duration of the Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival.

In addition to mouthwatering price crashes of up to 70% across multiple product categories including Computing, Electronics, Mobile Phones, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Home & Kitchen Appliances, Wine & Spirits, Fashion, etc., Konga has equally lined up a suite of budget offerings tailored for every pocket, including Under 5k Shop, 10k Shop, 20k Shop and Under 30k shop, among others. Shoppers are also in for a treat, with treasure hunts, live auctions and flash sales on specific days of the campaign.

In partnership with leading financial institution, Access Bank, Konga is also offering extra 10% discount off all purchases made by Xclusive Plus subscribers who shop with their Visa Signature Card.

Also on offer are app-only deals for Konga App users, early bird discounts, special deals for walk-in customers to Konga stores, free delivery for Konga Prime subscribers, special bulk deals for heavy shoppers, business owners, corporate/religious organizations, cooperatives and educational institutions, among others.

In line with its mandate of helping shoppers save money, prospective travelers will also enjoy special deals on visa and passport processing, summer flight packages to major destinations as well as flexible instalment payments via Konga Travels & Tours.

These offers are available simply by emailing [email protected] or WhatsApp: 08112114488.

KongaPay users are also set to benefit from attractive discounts and bonuses on daily transactions, airtime and data recharge, among others during the Mid-Year Shopping Festival.

Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival runs from Tuesday May 30 till Friday June 30, 2023.

Kaspersky recently analysed what digital superstitions Internet users believe in nowadays and investigated whether there are grounds for these beliefs.

According to the global Kaspersky Digital Superstitions survey, the most popular misbelief is that one should not pronounce “Yes” or “No” when speaking on the phone with strangers.

Allegedly, the conversation can be recorded and used to steal money from banking accounts: the majority of respondents surveyed from the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region (84%) agree with this.

In fact, voice identification systems are used in some banks, but only as an additional authentication tool which is not enough for carrying out a transaction, in particular to withdraw or transfer money.

Another common misconception that 85% of respondents in the META region believe in is that the HTTPS protocol of a website guarantees its authenticity. While in fact, the HTTPS certificate means that personal data can’t be reached from outside of the website, however this data can still be stolen by the site itself if it is a phishing resource.

More than half (57%) of respondents believe that it’s possible to delete all information on a smartphone by rolling it back to factory settings. In reality, the data can often be recovered after a factory reset and formatting. Specifics of the storage space on gadgets implies that the data is deleted only in case it’s overwritten, which is not happening during a reset.

57% of respondents from the META region think that if the device is not connected to the Internet, it is impossible to infect it with malware. In fact, it’s possible to infect a device even if it is not connected to the Internet, for example, using a flash drive or other removable media.

Four in five (82%) users think that the “Incognito” mode in the browser provides complete anonymity on the Internet. Though “Incognito” mode doesn’t guarantee absolute privacy. In this mode, the browser is not saving the history of visiting websites, cookies, download history and authorisation data which is not equal to complete anonymity.

“For over 25 years already we’ve been fighting not only various cyberthreats, but also digital superstitions. However, many of them are extremely durable. For example, it is interesting that more than a third of the users surveyed still believe that cactus plants absorb radiation from a monitor that may be harmful.

“That is why it is important to constantly improve digital literacy, as well as use reliable security solutions. There is nothing to be ashamed of not knowing something – and it is never too late to learn something new,” says Brandon Muller, technology expert and consultant for the MEA region at Kaspersky.