Twitter Phishing Campaign Targets Customers Of All Major UK Banks

 

Social media phishing campaigns have increasingly become popular among hackers looking to gain access to sensitive user data

A new active Angler phishing social media scam campaign has been identified by security researchers which is targeting all major UK banks and their customers. The scam campaign involves hackers creating fake Twitter accounts posing as customer support staff in efforts to hoodwink customers into divulging credentials.

In this case Proof Point researchers noted that the hackers operating the Angler phishing campaign were monitoring bank customers' accounts on Twitter. They hijacked conversations users attempted to have with genuine support staff of banks and redirected customers to a fake support page.

Proofpoint researchers said - Angler phishing is named after the anglerfish which uses a glowing lure to bait and eat smaller fish. In this attack the 'lure' is a fake customer support account that trick your customers into giving up credentials and other sensitive information.

Social media phishing campaigns have increasingly become popular among hackers looking to gain access to sensitive user data. Proofpoint had previously stated that the firm had seen a 150% rice in social media phishing in 2016. In addition to banks such campaigns target major brands especially those that rely heavily on social media to advertise their products and connect with their consumers.

Such phishing campaigns are fairly simple to execute and difficult to defend especially given that customers are often redirected to authentic seeming fake websites designed to grab user data when victims unknowingly provide their usernames and passwords.

The fake accounts are generally successful in duping users especially given that the language and tone used is similar to that of authentic support accounts. Moreover the fake website is also designed such that it looks similar to authentic login pages commonly used by banks.

This method of phishing is highly effective because your customers are already expecting a response from your brand. Unfortunately angler phishing is part of a broader trend in social media fraud, said Proofpoint researchers.

Proofpoint is yet to comment on which banks have been targeted by the attack so far.