Archer

They know you want it — free donuts, gift cards, cool shoes — just for taking a survey.

Don’t do it!

Here are some of the top spam scams, plus one of the ‘Most Wanted’ in the digital world for the beginning of this year.

Watch here:

 

 

Free Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks cards, Adidas shoes — just fill out a survey and enter to win.

But these are fakes, says cybersecurity company Kaspersky — yes, the same Kaspersky that’s facing controversy over its ties to Russia — some of the top spam scams showing up on your phone or computer.

When you do the survey, the bad guys can send you to an infected web site and put malware on your computer.

 

Spam survey messages. Image credit: Kaspersky

 

You didn’t win money in a lottery tied to the World Cup in Russia, as these messages tell you, or to the Olympics in South Korea.

Some scammers pretend to be Olympic sponsors, like Coca Cola or McDonalds, and send you links to Olympic moments of greatness.

But, Pennsylvania’s Criminal Intelligence Center says if you click, the cyber ruffians can hold your computer hostage or steal your passwords.

 

Spam messages tell you that you’ve won a lottery related to the World Cup. Image credit: Kaspersky

 

Crooks are putting a fresh spin on their email fraud, saying you won a lottery in Bitcoin, rather than cash.

Cryptocoin is all the rage in spam, according to Kaspersky, with some fakers telling you to “ride the wave of Bitcoin” so you can get rich overnight.

Some spam offers up fake crypto coin services, where you think you’re investing in or trading crypto currency, but you’re really just giving away your digital money.

One bogus crypto coin trading site uses images of Bill Gates to lure you in, according to Kaspersky.

Plus some crypto crooks are copying real crypto wallets — where people store their digital money — so you’ll deposit your Bitcoin or other currency into the wrong place.

This e-mail tells you that you can turn your computer into a “24-7 money generator” with crypto mining.

 

A spam message that can load malware onto your computer to mine cryptocurrency, according to Kaspersky. Image credit: Kaspersky

 

But researchers say messages like these can give you malware that can steal your passwords or turn your computer into a mining device for the bad guys, not for you.

In fact, cybersecurity company Check Point says malicious mining malware is the number one “most wanted” malware for the first month of this year.

Coinhive mining malware that uses your computer to make the cryptocurrency Monero takes the top spot, Check Point said.

Don’t become a victim of the most wanted — think before you click.

 

See other alerts:

Scam Alert #6 — Super Cute scam & ‘Be Mined’

Scam Alert #5 — Stealing your phone number & fake keypads

Scam Alert #4 — Porn ads for kids & disappearing banks

See more Scam Alerts here at Archer News.

 

Additional video images: Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Adidas