The FBI is concerned that online thieves may be attempting to steal money from you through online ads in online search results, as TechCrunch reported.
The FBI said in a public service announcement that cybercriminals are buying ads to spoof legitimate brands, including cryptocurrency exchanges, and that malicious ads can deceive consumers into installing malware masquerading as legitimate software.
Use an Ad Blocker
While search engine advertisements are not inherently malicious, the FBI advises caution when accessing a webpage through an advertised link. To protect yourself, the FBI recommends checking the URL to ensure the site is authentic, typing the business's URL directly into an internet browser's address bar rather than searching for it, and using an ad-blocking extension when performing internet searches.
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To protect themselves, the FBI suggests that consumers use an ad blocker. Ad blockers are web browser plugins that block online advertising, including those in search results. They can also increase privacy by preventing tracking codes from being embedded in adverts.
Businesses can also take steps to protect themselves and their users by using domain protection services, educating users about spoofed websites and the importance of confirming destination URLs, and providing guidance on where to find legitimate downloads for programs provided by the business.
Importance of Ad Blockers
Ad blockers do more than just remove the massive clutter from websites, such as auto-playing video and splashy advertising that take up half the page and cause your computer fans to spin like jet engines.
Ad blockers are also beneficial to privacy since they prevent tracking codes from loading within advertising. That means ad businesses like Google and Facebook won't be able to track you as you browse the web, learn which websites you visit, or infer what you might be interested in based on your web history.
The Best Ad Blockers
Based on the same TechCrunch story, uBlock Origin can be a simple, low-memory ad blocker that works for most browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, and the extension is open source, so anybody can look at the code and ensure that it is safe to run.
If you have been a victim of a scam in the United States, several resources are available to help bring the perpetrator to justice and protect yourself from future scams. You can report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by emailing spam@ftc.gov or calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). You can also contact the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch by phone at 1-800-876-7060 or their report form at https://secure.nclforms.org/nficweb/nfic.htm.
If you suspect you have been a victim of fraud or malware due to brand impersonation in search engine advertisements, you should contact your local FBI field office or the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. So, when viewing websites via search engine adverts, be cautious and take the appropriate steps.
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