It’s long been known that social networks are viewed by cybercriminals as rich hunting grounds. Using social engineering techniques, they can obtain information through posts and images from social media profiles to launch targeted phishing attacks. Counterfeiters are also using increasingly sophisticated methods to dupe consumers into purchasing fake goods through social media. Panda Security recently warned of a new online scam propagating through Instagram’s advertising platform, where discounts of up to 70% on leading clothing brands are targeted at users who through their profile are most likely to ‘bite the hook’.
