Ransomware Target Elderly, Instagram & TikTok Scams Hit Youngsters: Avast Report

NEW DELHI: Hackers are targeting senior citizens and middle-aged individuals with ransomware attacks, while young folks are falling prey to numerous frauds on popular social networking applications like Instagram and TikTok, according to a new worldwide survey released on Wednesday.

According to a study by international security firm Avast, the majority of individuals aged 65 and over, as well as those aged 25 to 35, typically use their desktop computer or laptop to get online, making them vulnerable to ransomware, tech support scams, spyware/Trojans, and Botnets.

People aged 25-34 and 35-44, on the other hand, use smartphones to go online the most (87%) followed by 18-24-year-olds (85%) making them targets for adware, mobile banking Trojans, downloader and FluBot SMS scams propagating malware, and Instagram, TikTok scams marketing adware programmes or Fleeceware.

Younger and older generations are both targets for phishing attempts and romantic scams across all platforms, according to the report, which is part of a broader worldwide study with YouGov on digital citizenship trends.

Cybercriminals frequently consider how younger and older generations use different devices to conduct targeted attacks, tailoring them to current culture and use patterns to make them more relevant and likely to reach their target said a senior official of Avast.

According to Avast Threat Labs statistics, in 2021, the business will have thwarted an average of 1.46 million ransomware assaults on computers every month. Each month between January and April of this year, there were 5.9 million tech support scam attack attempts worldwide.

Adware (59%), mobile banking Trojans (9.7%), and downloaders (7.9%) were the main dangers on mobile devices in the third quarter (Q3), which are hazardous programmes that utilise social engineering strategies to deceive victims into installing more dangerous or otherwise unwelcome apps.

“FluBot has also expanded rapidly on mobile in most countries, including India, where Avast prevented 3,500 assaults monthly in August and September this year, out of 35,000 attacks banned globally each month on average in Q3,” according to the research.

Using social media is the most significant online activity among 35-44 year olds (36 per cent).

Banking and finance activities (38%) are the most popular among 55-64-year-olds, followed by video talking with friends and family (32 per cent).

“This explains why these generations are targeted on their smartphones with Instagram and TikTok frauds, FluBot SMS and email phishing schemes that appear to be from friends or family, and mobile banking Trojans,” according to the research.

Various generations may view the internet through different lenses and have different online experiences, which is important to bear in mind when having talks about online safety at home.

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