May 2017 Round-Up
It’s the end of May already as we approach the halfway point of the year. So here is what has been popular in the world of Internet nonsense this month…
WannaCry Ransomware attacks
Of course this was the month where the widespread WannaCry ransomware attacks hit, crippling many areas of the UK’s NHS amongst other networks. It was dubbed the largest ransomware campaign on record, infecting hundreds of thousands of computers – we discussed what happened here…
And more importantly, we recap some lessons we all need to learn in our article here –
Google Play apps found to have malware
Google Play towards the end of May fell foul to another malware campaign as 41 apps from one developer were found to install malware onto a user’s device. Learn about the malware here and make sure you don’t have any of the infected apps on your Android phone.
Fake news about the Manchester attacks
As the tragic events unfolded in Manchester this month, cyber crooks and spammers wasted no time in exploiting the terrorist attack by creating a wealth of misinformation designed to trick users into visiting websites or sharing fake information. We outline some of the most popular fake news concerning the Manchester attacks here –
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Fake Facebook links promising shop coupons for anniversary
We’re still seeing so many fake “we’re giving this coupon away to celebrate out anniversary” type scams floating across Facebook, that claim all you need to do to get a coupon is click on a Facebook link. We discuss these scams here –
No, that company isn’t giving away gift coupons on Facebook for their anniversary
Internet warning gives incorrect information about +375 numbers
A warning has resurfaced from a number of years back warning people about a scam involving receiving missed called from +375 numbers. While the warning does give some good advice, most of its content is just false scaremongering. Read about it here –
Internet warning advises readers not to call +375 +371 numbers
Free perfume samples to knock out victims?
Another ancient hoax resurfaced this month that claimed crooks were using free perfume samples to knock out victims in car parks across the world. Despite this ruse spreading across the Internet for years, it is another hoax that never quite seems to go away. We discuss it here –
Are criminals using fake perfume samples to drug women in car parks?
McCanns to appear on Jeremy Kyle show?
This bizarre rumour claimed that the parents of missing child Madeline McCann were due to appear on the UK talk show The Jeremy Kyle Show to do the show’s notorious lie detector test. The rumours were fake, however.
Fact Check – Gerry and Kate McCann to do lie detector on Jeremy Kyle Show?
Morrisons fake coupon scam
There has been plenty of fake links spreading across Facebook claiming to be giving away free coupons – just as soon as you complete lots of information-harvesting surveys, that is! This isn’t a new scam, but particularly prevalent this month was links offering up Morrisons £75 coupons which never really existed.
Similarly, Adidas were not giving away free shoes, either…
Those are the highlights for May 2017 – a busy month by any standard!
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