Avast-themed phishing scam targets French users with fake refund

Coverage from HackRead indicates a sophisticated new phishing scam is targeting French-speaking users by impersonating the antivirus company Avast. Attackers have created a near-perfect replica of the official Avast portal, aiming to trick unsuspecting individuals into divulging their full credit card details.

The scam employs a "today only" tactic, presenting victims with a notification of a €499.99 charge for a subscription, with the date dynamically set to the current day. A false urgency is created by stating a 72-hour cancellation window, with transactions older than 48 hours being irreversible. Malwarebytes research revealed the fake site uses the Luhn algorithm to validate credit card numbers, mimicking legitimate banking portals. A live chat widget, using Tawk.to, allows scammers to monitor users in real-time and offer assistance to push them toward completing the fraudulent form.

The scam targets a wide audience, including existing Avast customers, non-customers, and those seeking refunds, with the sole objective of harvesting financial information. Users are advised to always navigate directly to official websites by typing the URL manually and to contact their banks immediately if they suspect their financial information has been compromised.

Source: HackRead