Phishing & Malware Filter

About Phishing & Malware Filter

This feature is available only in the Standard, Plus and Premium subscription plans for the Kaspersky app.

What is phishing?

Scammers send you to a website that mimics the site of a trustworthy organization. They need you to open it and type in some of your personal data, for example, your Apple ID or bank card details. Then scammers will use the information they tricked from you to rob you or blackmail you. This type of fraud is called phishing and no device is safe from it.

What websites are usually faked?

Fraudsters can fake online services like banks or even Apple. The web address in the link may look very similar to the one you know, with just one tiny symbol giving away the impostors. But this difference is really hard to notice, even for experienced users.

How can I protect my data?

The answer is simple—turn on Phishing & Malware Filter. The Phishing & Malware Filter feature automatically checks the links opened on the device for fraud, malware, and other web threats. If the website is dangerous, its link will be blocked.

Phishing & Malware Filter checks not only the links you open, but also online activity of the apps. This may cause some app features to be blocked. In Japan, the app also blocks links to restricted websites.

When Phishing & Malware Filter is on, you can monitor the real-time statistics:

• How many websites, or more specifically domains, were checked while you were using the device
• How many malicious links were blocked by Phishing & Malware Filter

Turning on Phishing & Malware Filter

To turn on Phishing & Malware Filter:

1. Open Kaspersky app.
2. Scroll down to the Phishing & Malware Filter section and turn on the feature.

   The Phishing & Malware Filter feature uses VPN technology. This is why when you turn on Phishing & Malware Filter you need to allow the app to set up a VPN configuration.

If you turn off VPN in the device settings, Phishing & Malware Filter will stop working.

When you turn on Phishing & Malware Filter, the VPN icon appears in the status bar. However, it doesn’t mean that VPN is on. To turn on VPN, follow this instruction.

About crypto scams

Crypto scams are a variety of cybercrime that aim to steal cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Types of crypto scams

Crypto scams can take the following forms:

• Fake websites and crypto wallets. Scammers create a fake site that mimics a known crypto exchange or a fake wallet. Such a website can be hard to tell apart from the real thing because the domain name and layout of the website closely resemble the original. Users visit the fake website and enter their sensitive information, revealing it to the scammers.
• Crypto phishing. Scammers create phishing links that lead to fake websites, crypto exchanges, or investment platforms. These links are then emailed to victims or placed on other websites. Users click the links, losing their data or funds.
• Fake investments in a "new" cryptocurrency. Scammers create a sham proposal to invest into a new project, for example, a new cryptocurrency. Interested users send funds to the specified crypto wallet, but no cryptocurrency is in fact created, and the invested funds are never returned.
• Fake cryptocurrency investment opportunities. Scammers advertise lucrative cryptocurrency investment opportunities on social networks, promising to return the invested amount severalfold. Instead of the promised income, users lose the invested amounts.
• Scams involving the purchase of mining hardware. Users pay for cryptocurrency production (mining) hardware, but never receive the promised items.
• Fake cryptocurrency purchasing websites. Scammers create a website where you can ostensibly purchase cryptocurrency for fiat at a good exchange rate. You send the money but get nothing in return.
• Pump-and-dump schemes involving cryptocurrencies. Scammers launch a massive advertising campaign to prop up an individual cryptocurrency. They promise that the price of the cryptocurrency will continue to grow. Investors rush to purchase the cryptocurrency being advertised. Scammers then quickly sell off the cryptocurrency at the elevated price, which can cause its price to crash below the initial level within minutes.

How the Kaspersky app recognizes crypto scams

The Kaspersky app checks links on websites against a regularly updated database of phishing web addresses and fake cryptocurrency exchanges. If the website or crypto exchange is fake, the app will notify you and block your access before the resource can harm you.