Scammers are hijacking Google Forms and using a fake AI chatbot to steal money

Date:
Mon, 13 Nov 2023 17:26:04 +0000

Description:
Spammers paid "extraordinary attention to detail", researchers claim, as they start hunting for people's Bitcoin.

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Scammers have found another way to abuse a legitimate cloud service to
deliver spam and phishing messages to peoples inboxes.

This particular campaign, however, takes it a step further, as the attackers also deploy a fake AI chatbot in an attempt to steal peoples cryptocurrency.

The tactics were described as paying extraordinary attention to detail by cybersecurity researchers from Cisco Talos , who recently observed scammers abusing Google Forms to carry out the spam campaign.

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Preferred partner ( What does this mean? ) Spamming for Bitcoin

Heres how it works: First, they create a new Forms file. They choose the make this a quiz option. Then, they tweak two key settings: Release grades later, after manual review (which forces the quiz to collect email addresses), and Responder input under Responses (this allows the attacker to fill the form using the victims email address).

Now, Forms generates a link to the document, which the attackers access, fill it (the answers are irrelevant), and press Release scores. This prompts Forms to send an email notification to the victim - a message that can be fully customized before being shipped out.

The contents of the message may vary, but the goal is always the same - to trick people into thinking that a year ago, they logged into a Bitcoin cloud mining service and forgot about it. Now, they mined more than 1.3 bitcoin, which equals roughly $48,000. To withdraw the cash, the victims are first approached by a fake AI chatbot that helps them exchange the cryptocurrency for fiat currency (USD, for example), and later demands a small exchange fee of roughly $64, which should be paid in bitcoin, to an address shared by the chatbot.

Obviously, there is no Bitcoin and the money sent this way is forever lost. The good news is that by the time Cisco Talos researchers discovered the campaign, no one paid anything. More from TechRadar Pro Governments around
the world are being hacked thanks to Citrix flaws Here's a list of the best firewalls today These are the best malware removal tools right now



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/scammers-are-hijacking-google-forms-and -using-a-fake-ai-chatbot-to-steal-money


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