As Olympic Games Continue So Will New Scam Threats

The 30th modern Olympic Games are upon us.  People around the world are following their favorite athletes and trying to find out as much as they can about how their favorite countries are doing, searching the web for updated medal counts and replays of their favorite events.  It's a shame that some scammers and other criminals are using this as an opportunity to try and take advantage of those who just want updates on the Olympics.

A number of cybercrime experts including the security firm ThreatMatrix released warnings encouraging those seeking information about the Olympic Games to stick to trusted online news channels.  There are apparently Olympic-themed sites being put up that feature real news from the Olympics but also contain a nasty surprise... malware that gets downloaded and installed on your computer, often without your knowledge that anything's out of the ordinary until it's too late.

Part of the reason that this is more of a threat now than it has been in the past is because the Internet is much more a part of everyday life than it was even four years ago.  Never has there been an Olympics where there are so many people Tweeting about it, talking about it on Facebook and scouring the Internet for every scrap of information that they can find.  It presents a unique opportunity to cybercriminals that may not appear again; by the next Olympics people could be much more aware of threats like this and not as vulnerable to these sorts of sneaky attacks.

Hopefully you won't run in to any sites like this, but if you do then it's important that you keep yourself safe.  When you hit the Internet looking for Olympics information, keep in mind that legitimate sites shouldn't require special plugins or additional software just to view their contents.  This can be a good indicator that there's something fishy with a site, and if you run in to one of these download requests you should not only not download it but you should also leave the site immediately.

If you've already found yourself on Olympic Games-related websites recently that you'd never visited before, make sure that your virus and malware scanners are up to date.  While there are a number of legitimate websites and blogs that are covering the Games, it can be hard to distinguish a scammer's site from the real thing.  In some cases the scammers might even be using RSS feeds from legitimate sites to ensure that they have the up-to-the-minute information that people are looking for.

Just be smart about your online habits and when looking for Olympics news.  Don't let a scammer or hacker ruin your day when you're just trying to find out more about your favorite events.  Stick to the official sites and more well-known news outlets when possible, and be cautious when visiting sites that seem questionable.