A new tech support scam pretending to be from McAfee was discovered last week, stealing debit and credit card information from its victims. The scam starts by displaying messages to the user when they open their browser. The message that appears states that the user's McAfee subscription has now expired, and asks to renew it.
This is not the first time we have seen such a scam. There have been similar scams in the past, which displayed a message to the user telling them to renew their McAfee subscription. The link they included was an affiliate link, so when the victim user purchased the product, the scammers earned a commission.
However, this particular scam works a little differently. When users click the “Renew Now” button that appears when they open their browser, a form appears asking the user to fill in their details. The details required in the form are name, email, card number, card expiry date, CVC, home address, zip code and phone number. When the user fills in the details and tries to complete the purchase, the browser connects to a website other than McAfee and stores all of the user’s details.
When the save process is complete, the user is redirected to a new page, and asked to call a company representative to help them renew the program. During the call, the company technician informs that for some reason the product purchase failed, and gives the user instructions on how to purchase McAfee from the authentic website, using the special affiliate link.
Thus, scammers not only steal users' information to use later, but also give users instructions on how to purchase the antivirus with their own affiliate link, which ensures them a percentage.
If you have fallen victim to such a scam, it is important to notify your bank, and frequently check your recent transactions for suspicious charges.
