{"id":8689,"date":"2023-10-19T08:26:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T08:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=8689"},"modified":"2023-10-21T13:39:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T13:39:59","slug":"misleading-social-media-posts-say-morning-greetings-put-people-at-risk-of-hacking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-social-media-posts-say-morning-greetings-put-people-at-risk-of-hacking\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Morning Greeting Messages Putting You at the Risk of Hacking? Find out the facts…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A viral message indicating that “Good morning” WhatsApp forwards can put the user in danger of phishing attacks is being circulated on social media platforms. Let’s look at the claim in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts :<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A post circulating on social media says Chinese hackers are using Good Morning videos, pictures, and messages to hack your devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDear friends, please delete all welcome photos and videos in Good Morning format. Please read the article below to the end, which will be clear why I asked about it. From now on, I will only send personally prepared greetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please read it all !!! Send this message urgently to as many friends as you can to stop the invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olga Nikolaevna Lawyer: Caution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATTENTION<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who like to send Good Morning pictures! Good day! Good evening!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not send these \u201cgood\u201d messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Shanghai China International News sent SOS to all subscribers (this is the third reminder) that experts recommend: please do not send good morning, good night, pictures and videos, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports show that hackers in China designed the images, the video is so beautiful to hide the phishing codes inside them, when everyone sends these messages, the hackers use your devices to steal personal information, such as bank card information and data to crack the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been reported that more than 500,000 victims of fraud have already been deceived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to greet others, write your own message to protect yourself and your family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important! Delete all greeting messages and pictures that you have on your phone for your own safety. If someone sent you such a picture, immediately remove it from the device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malicious code takes time to deploy, so if you act immediately, no harm will be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell all your friends about this to prevent hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greet others by writing your own words, and send only images you create. The material you create yourself is completely safe.\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f Please understand me correctly! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All have credit cards attached to their phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone has a lot of contacts in their phones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will create a threat not only to yourself, but to all the contacts that you have on your phones, your friends and acquaintances. \"\u203c\ufe0f\"\ufe0f\"\u203c\ufe0f\"\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take this very carefully! This is a harsh reality\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f\"\u203c\ufe0f\" \ufe0f\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posts were widely circulated on Facebook.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We also found that this message has been shared widely on WhatsApp too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fact-Check :<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The viral posts credit the message to ‘Shanghai China International News,’ but there is no evidence of the existence of such a media outlet. Following the information in the above post, we investigated if a warning was issued by a lawyer named ‘Olga Nikolaevna,’ but no such warning was found either. The only relevant information found online pertains to a Duchess of Russia named Olga Nikolaevna<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good Morning Messages Not Involved in Fraud<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There hasn’t been any reported fraud related to Good Morning or Good Night messages, including videos or pictures. If half a million people had fallen victim to such scams, it would have made headlines. However, there is no reported case simply because it never occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a phishing attack?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Phishing attacks<\/a> are fraudulent emails, text messages, phone calls, or websites designed to trick users into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or personal data (e.g., Social Security and credit card numbers, bank account numbers, login credentials), or taking other actions that expose themselves or their organizations to cybercrime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hackers from China or any other country have more significant pursuits than creating these Good Morning pictures and videos. These visuals are primarily crafted by websites and social media influencers designed for people to share and gain new followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Steganography:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While it’s true that malware or phishing URLs can be hidden within an image, this practice is not limited to just good morning or good night messages. This method, known as’ involves embedding malware within various digital sources, such as images or videos. It is concerning that traditional malware detection tools often miss these concealed threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In digital steganography, files, messages, images, or videos can be discreetly hidden within other files or media, allowing cybercriminals to spread malicious content undetected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber security expert Asela Vaidyalankara<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough Malware can be embedded in images and messages forwards, we have not observed a mass scale attack by any malicious organizations involving \u201cGood Morning\u201d messages. Therefore, although you must be careful when downloading unknown files to your devices, the likelihood of malicious attacks using good morning messages is low.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow us and stay up to date with our latest fact checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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