- Bitdefender identified a malicious SMS campaign
- Texts promise energy bills up to 90%
- Elon Musk’s resemblance is used to try to deceive the victims
A malicious SMS campaign was discovered by Bitdefender, taking advantage of Americans who want to save money on their energy bills.
The crooks sent an offer for an “innovative” energy saving system via an SMS, generally including the real name of the victim, urging them to follow a link to “start to save” hundreds on their electricity bill. The fraudsters probably had access to the victim’s names through previous data violations. Here is an example of SMS;
“Gary, your neighbors pay 79% less for power. Why is it? Stop too much pay – Click here to start saving .com / eln »
ESAVER WATT
In addition to phishing and malware attacks, the link was found to lead certain recipients to a false article with a photo and a testimony of Musk, promising savings that can go 90% on monthly electricity bills.
“Large electricity companies ripped you down. Yes, it’s true. Believe it or not, they used a secret to go wrong every time you turn off your lights, dishwasher, mixer, empty and everything that draws power, ”explains the false Elon Musk.
“This is why your electricity bill is so expensive each month and continues to rise with certain American residents who pay up to $ 500 per month in electricity bills. Each American can reduce their electricity bill by 90% using this revolutionary technology. You are welcome.”
The article includes a photo of “the device” and links to product pages, where the plugin is sold for $ 40. Bitdefender has seen similar devices sold on Chinese markets for a few dollars – but to be clear, energy prices cannot be reduced by plugging in, and these devices will cost the victims and their personal information.
These are classic social engineering attacks, which are designed to panic or encourage victims to action – by generally clicking on a malicious link that will steal their data. The best way to stay away from attacks like these is to remain vigilant, and never click on unlined links-remember, if it seems too good to be true, this is probably the case!
