Carders recruit schoolchildren to install malware

[Tomcat]

Carders are trying to lure schoolchildren into cyberattacks by offering to make extra money from illegal activities in the digital space. In particular, teenagers have the opportunity to participate in carding, hacktivism with a political bent, and the distribution of malware.

According to Oleg Sedov, a specialist at RTK-Solar, we are talking about some kind of guerrilla cyber squads, of which schoolchildren can become members. In a conversation with Izvestia, Sedov noted that in order to participate in criminal schemes, teenagers must install a malicious program that unites them in a botnet.

After analyzing the proposals of seasoned cybercriminals, experts concluded that there are good psychologists among them. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain the virtually flawless hit to the target audience of the attackers.

Often, teenagers just want to put their IT skills into practice. For example, just for fun, try to hack something. However, experts remind: even breaking into a classmate’s account is a criminal offense.

Studying materials, fraudulent schemes, as well as obtaining ready-made malware for DDoS attacks or phishing - all this happens in closed chats, Telegram bots or forums on the dark web.

The thirst for knowledge and experiments does not always lead young IT lovers to positive results. Some teenagers are crashing their own computers trying to run their own malware, researchers say. Moreover, young people love to brag, so they record their “exploits” on video and post it all on the Internet. This is how schoolchildren give themselves away.

Grigory Kovshov, an expert at the Gazinformservice company, spoke about the dangers of this scheme of interaction with attackers:

“First of all, it is necessary to convey to children that hacking is a serious crime. Today, on forums where cybercriminals are actively represented, there is a discussion of the prospects for illegal work for schoolchildren. Attackers are trying to lure young and even young users who are immersed in or just interested in the IT field to the “dark side.”
It is quite obvious that it is impossible to find legitimate, promising and well-paid work on the darknet. As for part-time jobs, they can also lead to problems, since professional cyber fraudsters rarely hire people “off the street”; most likely, schoolchildren are simply drawn into yet another scheme and used in the “dark”. As a result, not only can they be attracted to illegal activities, but they are also unlikely to pay for participating in fraudulent schemes.
Be vigilant and remember - information security is in our hands."

(c) https://www.anti-malware.ru/news/2022-10-19-111332/39756