This article is more than 1 year old

WHY would survey-slingers give YOU a free $1,500 Google Glass?

34bangbang_fun@imail.ru wants sir/madam as a beta tester. Oh ok, carry on then

Credulous punters' desire to get their hands on Google's new Project Glass head-mounted display is already being used against them by cyberscammers.

The Chocolate Factory's augmented reality glasses may be still at the prototype stage, but cybercrooks have latched onto the recent release of a demo video with their own cyber-chaff, combined with the black arts of search engine result poisoning.

As a result the top results for the search term “free Google glasses” is an eye-catching YouTube link with the title [{FREE}] Google Project Glass [[FREE GOOGLE GLASSES].

The video was copied from the original Google Glass YouTube advertisement but features links to a dodgy site in the comments. The site supposedly offers information on how "it’s possible to get similar glasses for free!" or to become a beta tester for Google Glass.

In reality the links on the scamvertised site put users through the hoops of a survey scam, which attempt to trick prospective marks into signing up to deceptively marketing premium rate phone services, Trend Micro warns.

The security firm has added website associated with the scam to its URL blacklist. It notes the re-appearance of similar scams is more than likely, so users should be cautious about implausibly generous offers. the concern that Google Glass is likely to become a theme of survey scams, replacing bogus offers of free iPads as a staple of this type of short con in the process.

"Currently, there’s no way for users to get Google Glass," Ruby Santos, a fraud analyst at Trend Micro warns in a blog post. "Preorders were only accepted at Google I/O 2012 more than eight months ago, and a campaign asking for ways to use Glass creatively just ended.

"We advise users to avoid clicking on unfamiliar links, particularly those that offer too-good-to-be-true deals. (Considering the pre-order cost $1,500, this would count as too-good-to-be-true.). Users should likewise be cautious of schemes that may abuse the #IfIhadGlass campaign." ®

More about

More about

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like