{"id":26342,"date":"2021-07-11T11:47:32","date_gmt":"2021-07-11T08:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=26342"},"modified":"2026-03-27T22:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:49:48","slug":"scamming-activities-intensify-ahead-of-the-premiere-of-long-awaited-superhero-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/scamming-activities-intensify-ahead-of-the-premiere-of-long-awaited-superhero-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Scamming activities intensify ahead of the premiere of long-awaited superhero movie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a few release date changes due to the pandemic, the world is finally set to experience the long awaited Black Widow movie. With all the restrictions driven by coronavirus, the organizers decided to take an important step \u2013 the premiere of Black Widow will take place simultaneously in movie theaters and on streaming services. And with the premiere moving online, this has fueled interest not only for cinephiles and film buffs but also among scammers and fraudsters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get a clearer picture of how cybercriminals try to monetize viewers\u2019 interests, Kaspersky experts have analyzed malicious files disguised as the new Black Widow movie, as well as movie-related phishing websites designed to steal users\u2019 credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Kaspersky experts highlighted spikes of infection attempts amid the announced release dates, namely, May 1st<\/sup> 2020, and May 7th<\/sup> and July 9th<\/sup> 2021. Ahead of the premiere of the super-spy film, the company\u2019s experts saw the largest numbers of attempts to infect users: 12% before the initial release date in 2020, 13% in April 2021, and 9% in June 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Number of attempts to infect users with files disguised as the Black Widow movie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaspersky experts also found a number of phishing websites designed to steal viewers\u2019 credentials. In the hope of watching the long-awaited Black Widow movie, users visited a website showing the first few minutes of the film before being asked to register to continue watching. During the registration, to confirm their region of residence, victims were asked to enter their bank card details. After some time, money was debited from their card, and as expected, the film did not continue to play. This type of phishing is widespread and considered to be one of the most popular among scammers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An example of a phishing website offering to stream Black Widow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBig movie releases have always been a source of entertainment but they are also an attractive lure for cybercriminals to spread threats, phishing pages, and spam letters. Right now, we have observed intensified scamming activities around Black Widow, the release of which, fans all over the world have been eagerly anticipating for a long time. In their excitement to watch the long-awaited movie, viewers have become inattentive to the sources they use, and this is exactly what fraudsters benefit from. <\/em>These attacks are preventable, and users should be alert to the sites they visit,\u201d <\/em>comments Kaspersky security expert Anton V. Ivanov.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid falling victim to malicious programs and scams, Kaspersky advises users:<\/p>\n\n\n\n