Pokemon NFT Game Serving As Guise For Hackers To Gain Remote Access To Your Windows Device

The next time you think about clicking on a download button from an unverified but well-crafted Pokemon NFT card game website — think again! Threat actors could be at play. 

What Happened: Given the popularity of Pokemon and NFTs, cybercriminals are using fake Pokemon NFT card game websites to lure people into downloading NetSupport Remote Access Tool, or RAT, reported Bleepingcomputer. 

See Also: Are You Being Spied On? This Google Hack Can Access Security Cameras At Airports, Schools And Other Places

The fake website asks users to click on the "Play on PC" button on their Windows — developed by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) — devices and install the RAT software on the system. 

This isn't the first time such cybercriminal activities have come to light. In 2022, it was found that threat elements pushed a phony Visual Studio file instead of the Pokemon game, the report noted. 

Why It's Important: Although NetSupport Manager is an authentic software product, threat actors use it for malicious campaigns. 

The NetSupport RAT executable is installed in a "hidden" folder to evade standard manual inspections on the file system. Once it is installed into a device, the software enables threat actors to steal users' data and download malware, among other things, the report said. 

Microsoft warned users about malicious campaigns using pandemic-themed files to install NetSupport RAT onto their devices in 2020. However, campaigns using fake websites to coax victims into downloading NetSupport RAT continue to target websites like WordPress.  

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