{"id":27159,"date":"2024-03-07T07:02:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T12:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/?p=27159"},"modified":"2024-03-08T18:12:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T12:42:07","slug":"international-womens-day-scam-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/international-womens-day-scam-2024\/27159\/","title":{"rendered":"Neither flowers nor gifts: how women get scammed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking place every year on March 8 in many countries across the world, International Women\u2019s Day is celebrated differently depending on the country: in some it\u2019s a national holiday; in others it\u2019s not a holiday but still widely observed. But what\u2019s the same everywhere is that it\u2019s a day when everyone\u2019s eyes are on women from all walks of life; and when I write everyone\u2019s<\/em>, that includes scammers\u2019 eyes too. The feverish days running up to March 8 (ordering this, buying that \u2013 and all in good time, but not too early if we\u2019re talking fresh flowers) provide a perfect opportunity for cybercriminals to make money, so they triple-down on sending links to fake sites, generating countless fake promotional codes, and making false promises of valuable gifts for every purchase.<\/p>\n

In this post, we discuss ways in which women can protect themselves from falling prey to these scams.<\/p>\n

Fake marketplace gifts<\/h2>\n

Statistics show that women are far more likely to shop at online marketplaces than men: 43 percent against 32 percent<\/a>. Thus, women are more likely to be targeted by promotions that appear in dazzling quantities ahead of any public holiday. Sadly, these campaigns aren\u2019t always legal and run by the brands whose names are used in sending out unprecedentedly generous offers.<\/p>\n

For several years in a row, shortly before March 8, young women receive WhatsApp messages purportedly from Amazon<\/a> and offering a valuable gift: \u201cWelcome to the Amazon International Women\u2019s Day Giveaway! We have more than 10,000 free gifts!\u201d To participate, the recipient is asked to follow a link and fill out a quick survey, and then share the message with a few dozen friends and verify their identity through email. Needless to say, respondents get no fancy smartphones, hair dryers, or laptops. Instead, according to security researchers, victims\u2019 devices may have been compromised, with the scammers getting access to the camera, microphone, banking apps, contacts, and gallery.<\/p>\n

In fact, some brands do employ instant messaging services and email to spread promotional offers, and Amazon is no exception. So, if you receive such a message, start by carefully scanning it: suspicious generosity, grammatical errors, an odd sender\u2019s address, and an urgent call to follow a link \u201cwhile it still lasts\u201d may be a sign that it\u2019s a scam. Remember the rules for safe online shopping<\/a> and use reliable security<\/a>\u00a0to be confident you\u2019re following a link to an official website \u2014 not a fake.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlowers for our regular customers!\u201d<\/h2>\n

The tradition of giving women flowers on March 8 dates back to 1946, when Italian women\u2019s rights activists chose the yellow mimosa as a symbol of resilience, sustained growth, and solidarity. Young women still get flowers from their friends and family every March 8. Scammers exploit<\/a> this sweet tradition too.<\/p>\n

On the eve of International Women\u2019s Day, scammers promise to send women flowers, while the recipient women, they say, will only need to pay for delivery. If a woman agrees, she receives a payment link in an instant messaging app. To no one\u2019s surprise, after following all the instructions, the victim gets no flowers, and the florist shop\u2019s phone number turns out to be somehow unavailable.<\/p>\n

The whole story is a typical delivery scam, which we\u2019ve written about earlier<\/a>. Losses in this case include both the \u201ccost of delivery\u201d and the bank card details, which can later be used to steal far larger sums. Here\u2019s a golden rule for you if you want to avoid being scammed: never pay for a gift. After all, it should be free because it\u2019s a gift. If a florist shop, nail salon, or spa decides to be nice and send you flowers all of a sudden, make sure they don\u2019t charge you for this.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything you say can be used against you\u201d<\/h2>\n

You must have heard the Miranda warning in movies: \u201cAnything you say can be used against you\u2026\u201d. Well, it\u2019s just as true for digital life as it is for real life. We\u2019re talking about doxers. These are people who collect any and all information available about their potential victims \u2014 information the victims themselves have published \u2014 and threaten to make it public. This type of threat is known as doxing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Young women are especially defenseless before doxers. A malicious actor can use data on the victim for catfishing<\/a>: creating a fake online identity with the victim\u2019s name, face, and other personal details to set up further scams on social networks and in dating services. The least they can do is harass you with text messages, phone calls, fake deliveries, or even swatting<\/a>. Popular streamer Amouranth<\/a>, with more than 6.3 million Twitch followers, says she gets swatted several times a month.<\/p>\n

Streamer Wolfabelle experienced<\/a> a different kind of doxing: a stalker found out her address and threatened to publish it unless she gave him sexual favors. She even received a photo of her house made by the doxer to prove he wasn\u2019t bluffing.<\/p>\n

On a positive note, this isn\u2019t something you can\u2019t prevent. In a nutshell, here\u2019s what you should do: avoid sharing your geolocation, publish only a minimum of information that can appear in online searches, or make your social profiles private. If you\u2019ve already been a victim of doxing, please refer to our other post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Celebrating March 8 safely<\/h2>\n