Researchers say they recently found Google ads delivering a sophisticated tech support scam that freezes the screens of both Windows and Mac devices and displays messages urgently instructing them to phone a bogus call center.
From August 31 to September 14, security firm Netskope observed users from 619 customer organizations click on the malicious ads, although none of them were scammed because Netskope blocked the content.
Netskope tracked more than 250 Google Ads campaign IDs across at least 284 publisher sites.
Combined with their need to get things done quickly and the difficulty of navigating the web, this lack of awareness makes a sizable portion of users prime targets.
4 sentences from our version of the report,
chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below.
How
Headline check
The one thing this headline claims is in the report.
Figures, names and quoted words in the headline, looked for in the report itself — not in the summary above. One claim in this headline could be checked, so this is a narrow pass and not a thorough one. How this is checked
The article, shortened and in plain language
Researchers say they recently found Google ads delivering a sophisticated tech support scam that freezes the screens of both Windows and Mac devices and displays messages urgently instructing them to phone a bogus call center.
The ads were displayed all over the web, including on high-traffic maps, weather, real-estate, document-hosting, and sports sites. Users who called the number were then urged to pay fees, grant remote access to their devices, or divulge personal information. From August 31 to September 14, security firm Netskope observed users from 619 customer organizations click on the malicious ads, although none of them were scammed because Netskope blocked the content.
About 62 percent of the organizations were based in the US, with Japan and Australia accounting for the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. Since the firm has visibility into only a small sliver of Internet activity, the number of people exposed to the ads—including those who fell victim to it—is likely much higher. Netskope tracked more than 250 Google Ads campaign IDs across at least 284 publisher sites.
By now, many people, including a fair number of readers of this site, ridicule and shame people who fall for such scams. Combined with their need to get things done quickly and the difficulty of navigating the web, this lack of awareness makes a sizable portion of users prime targets.
Further making the scam convincing, the software kit that delivers the fake warnings is designed to be stealthy and closely mimic the signs of a real infection.
Shortened to 1 minute
of reading, this version reads 9.6 on the Niral Score.
You are reading our version, not theirs.
This is Ars Technica's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with
verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives
that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations
are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure
this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.
How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it
No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.
Readers can ask a question about this story here.
Questions and answers are for subscribers.
Sign in
to read them.
Comments are read before they appear where anything in them needs a person to look.
Nothing posted here is ever deleted; a comment taken down keeps its text and the reason,
so the decision can be looked at again. How this works
