14 DAY TRIAL // French internauts are targeted in the latest spam campaign that roams the country, being falsely accused of copyright infringement. Because they could lose their internet connection, many might be tempted to quickly click the link contained in the message.
Torrent Freak reveals an interesting scheme that's based on a French law purposed to reduce acts of piracy. The authorities named a company called Hadopi responsible for monitoring the web for any illegal file sharing, serving warning notices to all those caught.
We've seen recently that 60 people already received three strikes, 44,000 were on their second attempt and a staggering 650,000 were alerted for the first time.
Because of the large number of warnings, any internet user might think that he was taken under supervision by Hadopi and even if they believe it was a mistake they may as well follow to link from the email to set things straight.
The message reads:
Your internet access has been used to make available, reproduce or provide access to cultural works protected by copyright.
This use may have been made without your permission or without your knowledge, perhaps even by an untrained user. But in any case, as the holder of the subscription to the Internet, you are legally responsible for the use made of it.
You must ensure that your Internet access is not subject to misuse, taking every precaution to secure it. This is a legal requirement, sanctioned by the courts.
The unsuspecting victim is transferred to a website that normally hosts an online store, whose owners might not be aware of the heist. Some legitimate looking pages then ask the user to provide an access code which can be obtained via SMS or by calling a number.
The phone numbers involved in the scheme are premium so any calls or messages can be charged with substantial amounts of money.
Cyber masterminds never remain out of ideas when it comes to duping someone, so be sure to stay alert for anything that looks suspicious, even if at first sight it seems to be coming from your bank or legal authorities.