How to avoid falling for scams like "Counter Strike Giveaway"

What is the fake "Counter Strike Giveaway"?

Upon inspecting the site (navi-csgiveaways[.]com) claiming to host a giveaway, we found that it is a fraudulent web page designed to trick unsuspecting individuals into divulging personal information. It is crucial to exercise caution and avoid interacting with suspicious websites or offers to avoid potential harm.

Fake "Counter Strike Giveaway" in detail

Natus Vincere (navi[.]gg) is a legitimate platform providing official esports merchandise. Scammers have created a fake Counter Strike giveaway website (navi-csgiveaways[.]com), presenting it as related to the official navi[.]gg site. The purpose of this fraudulent page is to lure users into providing login credentials.

On the fake site, users are offered to "open a free case" and then instructed to log in via Steam to get a prize. Following the instructions on the site leads to a request to provide a Steam account name (username) and password. The provided information is sent to scammers, who can then misuse it for malicious purposes.

Scammers can use stolen Steam login credentials to access the victim's Steam account, steal in-game items, currency, or other digital assets, and sell them on black markets. They might also use the account to make fraudulent purchases.

Additionally, scammers can exploit the compromised account to send phishing messages to the victim's contacts, attempting to steal their login credentials as well. The account could also be used to spread malware or for other malicious purposes. Thus, it is strongly recommended to examine platforms before divulging any personal information.

Threat Summary:

Name	Fake Counter Strike Giveaway
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Participants can receive prizes
Disguise	Legitimate Counter Strike giveaway
Related Domain	navi-csgiveaways[.]com
Detection Names (navi-csgiveaways[.]com)	Combo Cleaner (Phishing), Emsisoft (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Webroot (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Unofficial domain, lack of official verification, unrealistic claims, too good-to-be-true promises.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
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Online scams in general

As a rule, phishing pages mimic legitimate platforms to trick users into providing personal information. Scammers use these sites to extract credit card details, login credentials (e.g., usernames, email addresses, passwords), ID card information, social security numbers, or other details.

Once obtained by scammers, the stolen data is misused for various malicious purposes, including identity theft, financial fraud, or unauthorized access to accounts. A couple of examples of similar scams targeting personal information are "Fake Valorant Gift Scam" and "X Token Presale Scam".

How did I open a scam website?

Typically, users are tricked into visiting scam websites via deceptive advertisements, pop-ups, fake alerts, and similar content on unreliable web pages or links received from scammers via email. It is also common for scam websites to be opened via sites associated with rogue advertising networks (e.g., torrent sites and illegal movie streaming pages).

Additionally, users may land on scam sites through links and ads delivered via fake or stolen social media accounts and ads displayed by adware. In other cases, users may visit shady sites by mistyping URLs or clicking notifications from shady pages.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Avoid clicking opening files or links in suspicious (e.g., irrelevant or unexpected) emails or messages from unknown senders. When searching for information or downloading software, rely on reputable websites and official app stores. Do not trust ads, alerts, download buttons, and other content appearing on suspicious sites.

Utilize antivirus and anti-malware software and regularly scan your computer for threats. Do not agree to receive notifications from questionable web pages. If your computer is already infected with unwanted apps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of "Counter Strike Giveaway" pop-up scam (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake Counter Strike Giveaway?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a fake giveaway?

A fake giveaway is a deceitful scheme in which scammers promise to give away prizes or rewards (e.g., gift cards or cryptocurrency) in exchange for participation.

What is the purpose of a fake giveaway?

These giveaways are designed to trick participants into divulging personal information or performing other actions that benefit the scammer (e.g., transferring money or activating cryptocurrency drainers).

Why do I encounter fake giveaways and other scams?

Users frequently stumble upon scam websites through deceptive ads, pop-ups, and emails from scammers. They may also access these sites via sits employing rogue advertising networks, fake social media accounts, or adware-generated ads.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pags hosting scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan every website you visit and detect any unreliable ones, including those hosting scams. If such sites are detected, you will be promptly warned, and access will be restricted.

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