“Get free followers” scam targets Instagram users

If a service is popular, you can be sure that scammers and spammers will find a way of targeting as many of its users as they can.

Trend Micro fraud analyst Karla Agregado warns about Instagram accounts sending out “friend requests” in order to get users (potential victims) to check some of their photos, among which is one that advertises the possibility of acquiring new followers:

Unfortunately for those who get reeled in by the offer, the offered app is actually a Trojan that can send SMS from the infected device and even launch malicious sites.

But even those that do not download the app will get redirected to a page offering your standard survey scams.

“Cybercriminals profit from these survey scams via ad-tracking sites, which users are redirected to before the actual survey page. Plus, these bad guys can also use the data gathered from these scams by either peddling them to other cybercriminal groups or using them in their future schemes,” she explained.

It’s also interesting to note that this scam only targets mobile users.