Sci & Tech
Cybercriminals Now Targeting Kenyans With Mobile Malware Over Their Increased Use Of Dating Sites
In search of love during the valentine season, Kenyans looking for love in dating sites are getting malwares instead. Increased internet traffic to dating sites in the country has opened a new avenue for cyber attacks cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has revealed. Kenyans are among the African users falling prey to malware disguised as dating apps.
Cyber criminals are using popular dating services names such as Tinder, Bumble or Zoosk to spread mobile malware, steal personal data then later bombard the users with unwanted pop up advertisements or even spend their money on expensive paid subscriptions.
“Cybercriminals who specialise in phishing also do not miss the chance to feed on those seeking to find love. Fake copies of popular dating applications and websites, such as Match.com and Tinder, flood the internet. Users are required to leave their personal data or connect to the applications via their social media account. The result is not surprising: the data will later be used or sold by cybercriminals, while the user will be left with nothing,” the statement from the Kaspersky survey reads.
Kaspersky’s report shows that in 2019 the region saw a circulation of about 1,486 threats under the guise of over 20 popular dating applications in Africa, with 7,734 attacks on 2,548 users detected. Around 10 pc of all these threatening files (765) were detected in Kenya.
“Love is one of those topics that interests people universally, and, of course, that means that cybercriminals are also there. Online dating has made our lives easier and yet uncovered new risks on the path to love,” Vladimir Kuskov, the head of advanced threat research and software classification at Kaspersky says.
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