Beware! Fake EA Instagram baits its phishing hook with FIFA 14 exclusives

By Will Fulton June 19, 2014

beware fake ea instagram baits phishing hook fifa 14 exclusives phish — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The noble white hats over at Malwarebytes have caught on to a new scam wherein a fake EA Sports Instagram account lures hapless World Cup fans into giving up their Xbox and Origin log-in credentials with the promise of an exclusive character in FIFA 14. The fake account utilizes Instagram hashtags to direct football fans to a link that lands at a fake support page, promising exclusive characters like Brazilian forward Neymar. The account has nearly 9,000 followers and its posts frequently garner 400+ likes, so there is apparently no shortage of willing marks.

Malwarebytes previously picked up on a similar phishing scam on Twitter where a fake EA support account would insert itself into conversations, diverting gamers into a new conversation and similarly bringing them to a false log-in page. Although it should be obvious at this point, it always bears repeating that you should carefully examine the credentials of any sites or online entities asking for sensitive information.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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