Banking credential phishing via manipulated search results

Source: NCSC-FI (Finland)
Link: https://www.kyberturvallisuuskeskus.fi/en/news/criminals-phishing-online-banking-credentials-search-results
Published: 2021-03-04

Summary

Criminals phishing for Finnish online banking credentials managed to transfer large sums from victims’ accounts despite bank security measures. They manipulated search results to direct users to phishing sites instead of legitimate banking websites.

Key Points

• Attack vector: Manipulated search engine results
• Target: Finnish online banking credentials
• Impact: Large sums transferred from victims’ accounts
• Tactic: SEO poisoning to rank phishing sites highly
• User error: Clicking search results instead of typing URLs
• Recommendation: Exercise due caution when using online services

Impact

SEO poisoning demonstrates sophisticated attack tradecraft. Users relying on search engines for banking access are vulnerable to this attack vector bypassing traditional security controls.