14 DAY TRIAL // The Starbucks scheme is widely utilized by cybercrooks to direct unsuspecting internet users to the survey websites that earn them tons of affiliate cash, but now, instead of spreading only through Facebook, emails and tweets are being sent with the same fake advertisements.
In the hoax messages, internauts are promised free giftcards from Starbucks in return for a few clicks and some personal information. Unfortunately, the scheme seems to be working so well that the crooks decided to expand their operations; therefore, they started sending emails to random individuals, hoping that they'll fall for the false promises.
“OMG, Starbucks Corporation is handing out new cards. Hurry fast, Don't hold off a second. Here's the link. There only 294 more!!!” reads an example provided by Trend Micro.
Once the link is clicked, the user is taken to the previously seen pages, but instead of urging the victims to share the ad on Facebook, they are also given the opportunity to share it with their Twitter friends.
To make it even more complex, the next step in the winning process replicates a Youtube page that promises even more prizes in the form of cool mobile apps.
The survey page itself promises an XRAY Scanner application in return for a simple mobile phone number, but what victims don't know is that by handing over the information they can easily end up being part of a premium rate SMS sending scam.
Each SMS message sent to a phone number specified by the crooks could seamlessly inflate the user's bill.
This is precisely why people are advised to purchase mobile applications only from trusted app markets that verify their applications before putting them up for sale. Mobile software offered through shady looking websites will most often bring with it a piece of malware that steals sensitive data and the phone numbers from the contact list.