Rediroff.ru, a dangerous WhatsApp scam, has been in circulation for a few days now. Fraudsters, by using social engineering tools, can access a WhatsApp user’s personal data, financial information like bank and card details. The spam link, with Rediroff.ru in the URL. can infect Windows PC as well as iOS and Android smartphones.
As of now, it is not really known when this WhatsApp scam started but it affected a large group of people during the holiday season by luring users with promises of expensive gifts.
Scammers first send a link to WhatsApp users and once they click on the link, the website claims that they can win a reward by taking a suspicious survey.
After they answer the questions, they are redirected to a different website where the users are asked to fill out some of their information, including name, age, address, bank information and other personal data.
These details can be used to make fraudulent transactions or sold to criminals on the dark web.
The cybercriminals can also use this information to send them spam and malicious emails. They can also install PUAs ( potentially unwanted applications) on the user’s device.
The phishing websites first check the user’s IP address to know about their location and then they change the language of the page and show several fraudulent schemes that are suitable for their region.
How can users protect themselves from such scams?
Whenever a user receives a spam link with Rediroff.ru in the URL, they should immediately report it as spam and delete it. If they accidentally click on it, they should scan their devices for any malware or potentially unwanted applications.
If users see advertisements in places they should not be and if they are redirected to suspicious sites whenever they search for something on a browser, it means that malware has already infected their respective devices. At this point, they should immediately uninstall the suspicious applications from their smartphones.
