McAfee reveals in a new study the names of the 10 celebrities favored by hackers for developing online scams. In the lot, we of course find Elon Musk, very popular in the world of cryptocurrencies, but also a good number of actors and actresses from the film Barbie. Be careful not to fall into the trap.
If you are on Instagram, or on social networks in general, you have certainly already seen fake accounts pretending to be a famous influencer, claiming to offer iPhones and other expensive products to their fans. The practice is now known and does not only concern influencers, but all celebrities in general. We can no longer count, for example, the number of scams pretending to be Elon Musk in the cryptocurrency world.
Every year McAfee therefore draws up a list of the 10 celebrities most often exploited by hackers to develop online scams. The controversial billionaire is thus present in the list, but does not take first place. This “privilege” goes to actor Ryan Gosling, whose performance in the film Barbie was emulated on the Web. Furthermore, many of his colleagues are also cited in the ranking.
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Here are the 10 celebrities most used by hackers in online scams in 2023:
- Ryan Gosling
- Emily Blunt
- Jennifer Lopez
- Zendaya
- Kevin Costner
- Elon Musk
- Al Roker
- Margot Robbie
- Bad Bunny
- America Ferrera
Thus, no less than 3 actors and actresses from the list have played in Barbie, namely Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie and America Ferrera. We will also note the presence of Emily Blunt, starring in Oppenheimer, another event film this summer. The general enthusiasm surrounding the two works had already encouraged pirates to develop online scams.
As McAfee explains, 2023 saw a rise in deepfakes taking on the appearance of the celebrities mentioned above. “AI has been a game changer and cybercriminals can now create very sophisticated scams on a large scale using these tools,” alert Steve Grobman, CTO of McAfee. “To keep internet users safe and protect their privacy and identity, consumers must remain vigilant and think twice before clicking.”
Source: McAfee