Think Before You Click – “Clickjacking”

Whether you’re browsing the web or your newsfeed on Facebook, you’ve most likely come across or fallen for “clickjacking”; the latest scam that tricks users into thinking they are clicking a harmless link, but actually turns out to be a scam or virus.

How it works:

Remember those emails that notify you saying “You are the 999^th winner! Click here to claim your free prize!”? Well, they’re back but now in different types. Increasingly, users are now experiencing these scams through text messages and social media websites such as “liking” fake content posted on Facebook.

When you click to claim your “free prize”, it will redirect you to a website that appears harmless but in fact has hidden links, invisible layers and other contents on the page. The next step is to “register” all the required information for your “free prize” and this is “clickjacking”.

The information that you entered could activate several different scams. This allows them to use your information for personal purposes, force a payment transaction, change security settings on your computer and even share it to your personal contacts in order to steal their information.

How to prevent it:

The Better Business Bureau has four general tips for users to avoid “clickjacking”:

• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Avoid links or videos that claim to be exclusive clips or shocking news will require you to “click here” in order to see the full message or video.
• Update your web browser. Having an updated web browser and antivirus software installed will warn you before entering suspicious websites and block contents such as hidden links and invisible layers.
• Log out of websites. By staying logged on to websites, scammers can get easier access to your information. Be sure to log out of your accounts, avoid selecting the “remember me” tab, and clear your history.
• Don’t believe what you see. A website is created by someone. This means they can create it to appear exactly like they want it to look. So just because it looks real, it doesn’t mean it is.

To prevent the threat of suspicious scams and viruses, install trusted security software such as BrowseControl, which ensures your computer and network is up-to-date and fully secured. This will prevent threats such as “clickjacking” by blocking contents on social networking, online games and chats and restricting downloads. BrowseControl also features URL White List and URL Black List that will filter harmful links and allow authorized websites only.

To find out more about the latest scams and viruses, check out Search Poisoning and upcoming posts.

By Anthony Trinh