Received a wedding invitation from a relative or friend? Think twice before you celebrate. It could be a trap that leads to malicious websites designed to steal your passwords, phone numbers and OTP codes, or lures you into installing malicious apps that can access the messages and contacts on your phone. Scammers then steal your information and misappropriate your assets.

After taking over social media accounts such as Facebook and Zalo, scammers impersonate the victim and send wedding invitations containing malicious links to everyone on the victim’s friend list. The messages typically read: “This is my wedding invitation!”, “Click here to view the invitation,” or “Please confirm your attendance”...

Bkav cybersecurity experts advise users to:

• Verify directly with the sender through a separate, independent channel before opening any wedding invitation with a suspicious link, even if the message comes from a familiar account.
• Never enter passwords, OTP codes or banking information just to view an invitation.
• Do not install apps from unfamiliar websites or grant sensitive permissions without clearly verifying the source.
• If you have already provided your login credentials, change your password immediately and sign out of any unfamiliar sessions.
• If your banking information may have been exposed, contact your bank to freeze the account or block unauthorized transactions. If you have installed a suspicious app, stop all financial transactions on the device, scan it and remove the malware.
• Install antivirus software and a comprehensive anti-malware solution. The tools built into operating systems only meet basic protection needs and cannot counter modern ransomware and viruses, which are designed to lie dormant and embed deeply into the system.

Bkav