Skip to main content
07 September 2021

Scamming activity intensifies ahead of world famous auto racing event

This Sunday, 12th September, the Italian F1 Grand Prix – the highest class of international auto racing – is set to take place. With restrictions driven by the pandemic, not all fans will be able to attend the event and support their teams. As the pandemic continues, live streaming has gained popularity among spectators of the Grand Prix. However, it is important to bear in mind that cybercriminals often take advantage of fans’ eagerness to watch the F1 by instigating various online fraud schemes to gain users’ credentials.

To get a clear overview of how scammers monetise users’ interest in F1, Kaspersky experts have analysed numerous websites offering to stream the Italian Grand Prix live for free. As expected, some of these pages turned out to be phishing websites to steal viewers’ credentials.

 

Examples of phishing pages offering to stream the F1

Our experts found numerous fake websites providing a live stream of the Italian Grand Prix. To watch the F1 stream, spectators were required to register on the website and pay $1 to continue watching. Unsurprisingly, these websites turned out to be fraudulent and were being used as a tool in scammers’ schemes to steal credit card details. This type of phishing is widespread and considered to be one of the most popular among scammers.

Kaspersky experts have also discovered such phishing websites offering to stream F1 not only for the Italian Grand Prix but also for races in Russia, the Netherlands, and other countries.

 

An example phishing page offering to stream F1 races

“Cybercriminals use big sporting events as one of the most popular lures to steal users’ money and credentials. We have already observed a similar trend during the Olympic Games. With a great eagerness to watch F1, viewers have become inattentive to the sources they visit, and this is exactly what cybercriminals are waiting for. Fraudsters have developed a variety of techniques to distract users’ attention and steal their credentials, which is why we encourage spectators to be alert to the sites they visit,” comments Tatyana Shcherbakova, Security Expert at Kaspersky.

To avoid falling victim to a scam, Kaspersky advises users to:

·         Check the authenticity of websites before entering personal data and only use official webpages to watch sport transmissions. Double-check URL formats and company name spellings

·         Сheck the link before clicking. Hover over it to preview the URL and look for misspelling or other irregularities

·         Use a reliable security solution, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud, that identifies malicious attachments and blocks phishing sites

Scamming activity intensifies ahead of world famous auto racing event

This Sunday, 12th September, the Italian F1 Grand Prix – the highest class of international auto racing – is set to take place. With restrictions driven by the pandemic, not all fans will be able to attend the event and support their teams. As the pandemic continues, live streaming has gained popularity among spectators of the Grand Prix. However, it is important to bear in mind that cybercriminals often take advantage of fans’ eagerness to watch the F1 by instigating various online fraud schemes to gain users’ credentials.
Kaspersky Logo

Related Articles Information

  • Kaspersky Research Reveals C-Suite’s Plan to Plug Skills Gap with Gen AI

    Although most remain “unsure how it actually works”, 40% of C-level executives are planning to use AI and the advantages that can be gained through Generative AI (Gen AI) such as ChatGPT to cover critical skills shortages, according to new research by Kaspersky. As expected, the survey of almost 2,000 C-level execs across Europe reveals Gen AI to be firmly on the business agenda with almost all (95%) respondents regularly discussing ways to maximise value from the technology at the most senior level, despite 91% expressing a need to develop a deeper understanding of how it works and where the data goes once inputted.
    Read More >

  • Date or DAIte? Kaspersky Study Reveals Over Half of Single Men Would Use ChatGPT to “Deceive” Potential Dates

    - 75% of single people surveyed would use ChatGPT to improve their chat up lines - Over half (52%) of women would use ChatGPT to increase the amount of people they are talking to at one time on dating apps - Dating expert laments “deceiving” use of chatbots “a real reason for concern”
    Read More >

  • ‘Someone has shared a file with you’: legitimate SharePoint notifications used for phishing

    To hunt for corporate credentials cybercriminals now hide phishing links in a file on a hijacked SharePoint server and distribute them using a native notification mechanism. Such emails are better at bypassing spam filters and seem more convincing, especially if the company uses this service. Recently, Kaspersky experts observed more than 1,600 malicious notifications with potential victims in Europe, North America, and other regions. Although the scale of the attacks is not massive yet, companies should be aware of the new scheme and mitigate risks in advance.
    Read More >