How often do you check your social media accounts? According to a recent study, internet users spend an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes per day on social networking platforms. Since users are pretty reliant on social media, cybercriminals use it as an avenue to target victims with various cyberattacks. The latest social media scheme called “The Nasty List” scams users into giving up their Instagram credentials and uses their accounts to further promote the phishing scam.
So, how exactly do hackers trick innocent users into handing over their login information? Cybercriminals spread this scam by sending messages through hacked accounts to the user’s followers, stating that they were spotted on a “Nasty List.” These messages will read something like “OMG your actually on here, @TheNastyList_34, your number is 15! its really messed up.” If the recipient visits the profile listed in the message, they will see a link in the profile description. An example of one URL that has been listed in these scam profiles is nastylist-instatop50[.]me. The user is tricked into believing that this link will supposedly allow them to see why they are on this list. This link brings up what appears to be a legitimate Instagram login page. When the victim enters their credentials on the fake login page, the cybercriminals behind this scheme will be able to take over the account and use it to further promote the scam.
