It’s an ongoing tale of douchery-and a sad one at that-when we see how scammers play their tricks online in order to dupe practically anyone. They leave no room for distinction with regard to who they target. And why would they? When it comes to online fraud, everyone is a cash cow, even those with little to live off of.
Our AV Labs took a closer look at the website, snap(dash)help(dot)com/step/go/1/0, that is posing as the domain for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.), otherwise known as the Food Stamp Program. It’s a “federal-assistance program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people and families living in the U.S. Though the program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, benefits are distributed by the individual U.S. states.”
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When Internet users enter a ZIP code in the field provided, they are directed to a page where they can register their details. After this, they are taken to another page, asking for their mobile numbers:
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Users who give out their mobile numbers will be subscribed to a premium SMS service. Should users have skipped entering their details in the registration page, they are then led to this page, which persists on asking for their mobile numbers…
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…and one can only wonder why this is without informing users why they have to enter this detail or how it will be used.
“The entity responsible or the cellphone scam ad is gtoffers(dot)com-GameTheory, LLC, the same folks behind Social Ribbons and OpenInstall,” said Eric Howes, Security Product Manager at GFI. “GameTheory, LLC is the company responsible for the blitz of Zugo-installing Zombie Me / Vampire Me / Make My Baby ads on Facebook…until Matt Cutts exposed the operation.”
An insightful exchange regarding the relationships of the above-mentioned companies can also be read and followed in that expose.
This is not the first time something like this happened and who knows how many more are out there.
If you want to avail of the SNAP program, visit this page instead. Notice the “.gov” extension of the domain? That’s the legitimate government site, while the dodgy one is evidently a “.com”.
We implore to users to be careful and be sure that the sites they’re visiting should only be legitimate ones. Scam sites are at large in the Net. While scammers will take the deplorable step of targeting those less fortunate, there are plenty of online sources where free advice and assistance can be found.
Jovi Umawing (Thanks to Eric and Matthew)
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