Google Chrome warning – don’t click this fake link or your bank details could be stolen
The links are lurking within free Chrome themes that promise "unlimited" free movie streams
SCAMMERS are flooding the Google Chrome Web Store with links to malicious movie streaming websites designed to con you out of your payment details.
The dubious scheme promises free streams of new movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Rampage only to lead unwitting users down a rabbit hole of shady sites.
For the uninitiated, the big G's popular Chrome internet browser has a store that lets you download free and paid extensions (also known as plug-ins) to modify everything from its look to security features.
Think of it as an app store for Chrome.
And like Apple's iOS App Store and Google's Play Store for Android before it, it can fall prey to dodgy developers.
It's unclear who's behind this latest scam, but the fact that they're dishing out pirate movie streams should be the first glaring sign that something isn't right in Chrome land.
One of these nefarious extensions, spotted by , offers the recent blockbuster Ready Player One in "full HD online 4k" for your viewing pleasure.
But when you download the theme, it eventually directs you to a platform dubbed Vioos.co, which tries desperately hard to look like a pirate streaming service.
In reality, it's just a dead page that links you to more sites (with names like Zumastar and EtnaMedia.net) promising similar videos.
In the end, you'll wind up being asked to create an account for which you'll need to input your credit card details to access "unlimited" free blockbusters.
It's safe to say that you should steer clear of these sites altogether.
One of them, EtnaMedia.net, is even reportedly being blocked by antivirus software MalwareBytes due to suspected fraud.
But judging from the user numbers listed next to the dodgy Chrome themes, plenty of people have been duped into installing them.
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For example, the "free Watch Rampage Online Full Movie" extension has 2,196 users, the “Watch Avengers Infinity War Full Movie” variant has 974, the "Watch Ready Player One 2018 Full HD" page has 1,031, and the "Watch Black Panther Online Free 123putlocker" theme has more than 1,800.
We've reached out to Google to find out if it's aware of the issue and plans to scrub the nasty plug-ins from the Chrome Web Store – we'll update this article with the company's response.
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