Cyber criminals exploit fan craze around new James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’

Hackers are running malicious ads, pop-ups and movie-related phishing websites that promise free access to the movie to lure unsuspecting fans

Daniel Craig in a scene from 'No Time To Die'. AP

Cyber criminals are exploiting the buzz around the new James Bond film No Time to Die and are targeting unsuspecting fans by attacking them through malware, according to cyber security company company Kaspersky.

Hackers are running malicious ads, pop-ups and movie-related phishing websites that promise free access to the movie, the Moscow company found. The suspicious links intend to attack users with various types of potential malware and unwanted software when they click on links masquerading as movie files of the film.

“With the premieres of new films and TV series moving online, this has fuelled interest not only for cinephiles but also among scammers and fraudsters. Inevitably, such a long-awaited premiere as ‘No Time to Die’ causes a stir,” said Tatyana Shcherbakova, Kaspersky’s security expert.

“Users should be alert to the pages they visit, not download files from unverified sites and be careful with who they share personal information,” she added.

No Time To Die is Daniel Craig’s fifth and final film in the 007 franchise. Delayed by almost 18 months owing to the pandemic, it marks the end of Craig’s time as the world-famous MI6 agent.

At 163 minutes, it is also the longest of all titles in the James Bond film series.

Cyber criminals are not just stealing personal data, which they procure from users as account information, but they are also attempting to gain backdoor access to steal confidential data such as bank details, images, videos, sensitive data and computer login information, Kaspersky said.

How big is the data theft industry?

The average global cost of a data breach rose by about 10 per cent a year to $4.2 million over the 12-month period that ended on June 30, according to IBM.

The US continued to top the list, with average costs of $9.05m, up from $8.6m a year ago. It was followed by Middle East ($6.9m), Canada ($5.4m), Germany ($4.9) and Japan ($4.7m).

How does this scam work?

When users visit a website in the hope of watching the long-awaited No Time to Die movie, they will be asked to register their details after seeing the first few minutes of the latest film.

During the registration, victims would be required to enter their credit card information. However, after registration is complete, the user might not be able to continue watching. Money is debited from their card and the payment data ends up in the fraudster’s hands.

How to avoid the scam

• Avoid links promising early viewings of films or TV series. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of the content, check with your service provider.
• Check the authenticity of website before entering personal data. Only use official, trusted webpages to watch or download movies.
• Pay attention to the extensions of files you are downloading and check the spellings of company name.
• Use a reliable security solution that identifies malicious attachments and blocks phishing sites.