Quann Malaysia (formerly known as e-Cop Malaysia), a regional managed cyber security services provider, urged Malaysians to be prepared for a rise in Clickbait Phishing links that could potentially be a cybersecurity threat during the upcoming 14th Malaysian General Elections (GE14). 

Ivan Wen, General Manager of Quann Malaysia says news are more likely to be fake when it sounds too good to be true. 

However, he noted, the masses still fall for these and this is how Clickbait phishing sites or emails with attachments are often sent with sensational titles that bait users to click links for ‘Exclusive’ or ‘Shocking’ stories. 

“Once clicked, users are led to a phishing site that tricks victims into giving their personal data such as email addresses, identity card numbers, and even credit card information. 

“These could compromise critical financial information. These phishing emails can also launch ransomware attacks that encrypt important information on the device. In a worst-case scenario, this can become a national threat.”

“Besides that, these phishing links could automatically be shared with your contacts once they have access to your device, potentially putting your contacts at harm,” Wen added.

To prevent being infected by malware via clickbait links, Quann Malaysia advised users to take precautions such as keying in the address of a legitimate news site instead of directly clicking links sent to you to avoid being tricked and misdirected to a fake website and to regularly update your browsers with the necessary security patches.

“Before clicking, hover your mouse pointer over the link to view the link address and do not click website links that are unfamiliar, even if they came from someone you know as their accounts could have been compromised. 

“Also it is best to install an Anti-Phishing Toolbar and Antivirus that run quick checks on sites you visit to ensure they are safe to visit such being able to only access secure sites that begin with “https” with a closed lock icon near the address bar and regularly monitoring your online accounts to ensure they have not been hacked which can be avoided by using strong passwords and regularly changing them,” added Quann Malaysia. 

Quann Malaysia also advised users to be more aware of pop-up windows masquadering as legitimate extensions of a website as often they are used to target users visiting a website that has been compromised 

“Juicy news is hard to resist, but the possibility of losing your critical data, or worse, your money is not worth succumbing to curiosity conjured by the unbelievable clickbait news or offer titles,” ends Wen.

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