Beware: the Macbook M4 Pro offer may be a scam
Rumors and leaks surrounding Apple products are nothing new, but following a recent unboxing video claiming to be the leaked MacBook Pro M4there has been a huge increase in the number of ‘sellers’ promising the new MacBook before the official launch – if they have one, they can get more, right?
Well, common sense says no, and that includes Kaspersky researchers. The hype surrounding the new leaked product has been predictably followed by an influx of fraudulent activity, with scammers exploiting the excitement by offering testing programs for fake products and pre-sale items.
Kaspersky identified a number of scams that attempted to lure victims via emails with an exclusive offer to test the unreleased product, which will be released in November 2024.
A pinch of salt
In the email, the victim receives a link that redirects him to a fake store.
From there, the victim fills out a form full of sensitive information and credit card details to receive the “exclusive prize.” Regardless of the legitimacy of the leak, we can say with fairly high certainty that the offer of a free MacBook from an unauthorized source for “testing” is fake.
“The recently released video featuring an unreleased laptop has created false expectations, leading people to believe that if an influencer manages to get their hands on the device, it could be available to regular users as well.” says Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center, Russia, at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).
“Scammers are quick to capitalize on trends,” he noted. “Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
This, of course, exposes victims not only to the initial credit card theft, but also to the threat of identity theft from the compromised material likely sold by the scammers on the dark web.
