How scammers are using ‘Barbie’ craze to steal personal information

(NEXSTAR) – After a massive opening weekend, the buzz around “Barbie” is seemingly everywhere – but experts say scammers are also enjoying the blockbuster’s popularity.

“Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to make phishing and other scams more attractive and believable,” said Steve Grobman, CTO of McAfee, in a news release a week ago. “They often leverage popular and well-publicized events such as movie premieres, concerts, or sporting events to trick users into clicking on malicious links.”

McAfee has detected dozens of malware files with Barbie-related names this month, with 37 percent in the U.S.

Some phishing attempts are disguised as a “Barbie”-related video that contains a link directing potential victims to a Discord server or another website. There, they are promised fake tickets or otherwise convinced to download a file that turns out to be malware. In some cases, McAfee says, that malware is a “Redline Stealer” that effectively passes all login and other personal information found on the device to the hacker.

In India, McAfee identified another scam bad actors are using – fake sites advertising a full download of the movie in different languages. The download, however, is a .zip file full of malware.

McAfee offers the following advice to avoid these “Barbie” scams:

• Stick with trusted retailers and streamers
• Purchase tickets from the theater chain or a reputable ticketing app
• Watch out for shoddy-looking sites
• View offers, promos and giveaways with a critical eye
• Get online protection

Suzanne Spaulding, a former cybersecurity official with Homeland Security, told USA Today that such scams are inevitable when something becomes as wildly popular as “Barbie.”

Spaulding compared it to the scams she says often occur after a disaster, when people are motivated to give money out of compassion for the victims.

“They’re going to look for every target of opportunity,” Spaulding said. “And so this is not surprising and it’s good to be getting the word out because that’s what we need to do.”