SCAMMERS are sending malicious Microsoft Office files and tricking their unsuspected victims into opening them, tech bosses have warned.
This malware affects Windows 7-10 users and Windows version 2008.
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Hackers are reportedly sending a Microsoft Office file, tricking Americans into clicking the link.
The malicious file opens Internet Explorer and loads a malicious website that contains an ActiveX control which downloads viruses.
Haifei Li, of EXPMON, told the outlet Bleeping Computer that the “sophisticated attack” is 100 percent effective and would only take a user to click on the link before a PC or laptop is infected.
Bosses advise customers to keep their anti-virus software up to date.
Microsoft also opens online documents in protected view before they are saved onto hard drives to try and prevent malware from being downloaded.
To prevent accidental infections, tech experts recommend that Internet Explorer users disable ActiveX controls.
The tech giant’s warning comes as the FBI alerted Americans about a “disturbing scam” that sees callers pretending to be Border Control agents.
Scammers are said to be telling victims they have found drugs in their car.
To pretend they are federal officials, attackers use technology to change victims’ phone numbers.
A scammer attempted to trick an ABC7 reporter, calling her from a phone number that looked similar to her work line.
The call stated that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials had seized the reporter’s car because it was found packed with drugs and urged her to press 1 to speak to a CBP officer.
The reporter clicked the number and a man at the other end claimed to be a Customs and Border Protection official but when asked where he was calling from, his response was “Afghanistan”.
FBI Special Agent Cara Sammartino advised anyone who has received similar calls to contact their local FBI office.
A con artist pretending to be a beauty expert convinced a woman that she could shave her head for thousands.
SCAM WARNING
Megan Randolph, of Layton, Utah, was targeted by text as part of an “online campaign” in exchange for cash.
The money didn’t come and the scammer who claimed to represent Redken beauty products and hair care products vanished, along with the phone number.
Randolph toldKUTV: “I am a little devastated… but it is just hair and it will grow back. I wasn’t scammed out of anything but it’s malicious; it’s 100 percent cruel.”
Reports of crypto-fuelled scams are more prominent as digital currencies such as Bitcoin rise in popularity.
Nearly 7,000 people have reported losses of more than $80million in the US as a result of scams since last October, according to data from The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
This number is close to 12 times the amount of reported losses in the US, which is 1,000% more than those reported losses a year ago.
Many scammers will attempt to impersonate government agents. Giveaway scams pose as celebrities to ask for Bitcoin.
Many giveaway scams target people using social media to get connected via sites like Facebook or Twitter.
Scammers have begun to use dating apps, warning Americans.
The cryptocurrency was responsible for around 20% of all the money lost in dating scams over the past year.
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