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Doha, Qatar: Parents and students have been warned not to fall for back-to-school promo, scholarships, and academic funding scams. The frenzy surrounding the new academic year has seen cybercriminals intensify phishing campaigns targeting parents, students, educators, and administrators.
With the increasing popularity of online shopping, people are more inclined to purchase online. Scammers are now using ‘social engineering tactics,’ like offering high discounts, free school kits, online lectures, and scholarships, to entice internet users. Experts have pinpointed these domains, though operating globally, target consumers in huge markets, whereas the Middle East has recently become a hotbed for phishing.
According to a Spam and Phishing in 2022 report, Kaspersky’s anti-phishing system thwarted over 500 million attempts to access fraudulent websites globally in 2022. The cybersecurity and anti-virus provider also disclosed that this type of threat is growing over time as Q2 2023 saw a 64% increase in phishing detections compared with Q1 in Qatar.
During the back-to-school season, scammers employ various tactics. They set up fake online stores offering discounts on supplies and gadgets. These websites collect personal information and payment details – leaving victims vulnerable to credit card fraud. Others employ fake delivery mail tactics and trick recipients into clicking on malicious links to perform phishing and malware attacks.
For scholarship grant scams, desperate students easily fall prey in the region, especially among expats. They are enticed with full scholarship promises and asked to present sensitive information, pay fees, etc., without genuine assistance. Some resort to calls posing as government agencies using high-pressure tactics to extract personal information or immediate payments.
“Fake scholarship scams can severely impact unsuspecting students, leading to financial losses and long-term identity theft. Students must remain vigilant and cautious when interacting with unfamiliar scholarship offers,” Kaspersky’s Olga Svistunova, a security expert, stated.
Svistunova said that as millions of students purchase books, make tuition payments, and acquire school supplies, there is a traditional surge in cyber threats. She said scammers profit from this period, leveraging students’ enthusiasm to acquire new devices for their studies, leaving individuals at a heightened risk of being trapped by these scams.
A cyber-security expert, Emmanuel Roberts, noted that people should take notes of the ‘HTTPS’ in the site’s address, with the ‘S’ meaning secure. He added that a few simple steps, like examining the website while shopping and also looking for clues that could indicate it is fraudulent, though seemingly impossible, could be of enormous benefit.
“People should realise that extremely low prices could suggest a scam, and they should be vigilant. People should also avoid third-party websites and, at the same time, be wary of logging personal details and credit card information,” he said.
