A new virus on Messenger. Hackers steal passwords and money from bank accounts

CSIRT KNF, a team carrying out the tasks of the Sectoral Cybersecurity Team within the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, warns against a new dangerous virus spread by hackers via Facebook and Messenger. It is able to infect the victim’s computer with malware and thus gain unauthorized access, among others. to online banking account platforms.

Messenger virus steals passwords to bank accounts

The KNF’s CSIRT team warns on the X platform (Twitter) against dangerous messages from suspicious people who try to steal money from messenger users on Facebook and directly in the Messenger application. Cybercriminals spread messages there with attached malware in the .zip format, which then, after unpacking, is able to steal any password from a careless Internet user.

“The message contains a .zip attachment containing a malware dropper. When you run the file, a script is downloaded that contains stealer malware. This type of malware can, for example, steal passwords and other data from browsers on your computer.” – we read in the announcement that CSIRT KNF published on its profile on the X platform.

Criminals impersonate our friends

Every possible precaution should be taken not only in the case of messages coming from complete strangers, but also from those that look as if they were sent by someone we know well.

It is worth recalling that one of the favorite methods of cybercriminals operating on Facebook and Messenger is stealing access to our friends’ profiles and impersonating them in order to gain our trust.

To unintentionally unpack such a .zip file that was sent to us by an alleged friend, all it takes is a moment of inattention on the Internet. And there may be a dangerous virus inside that can cause a lot of damage to our lives, including our real ones.