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Showing posts with label social engineering scams. Show all posts

Dark Web Voice-Phishing Kits Supercharge Social Engineering and Account Takeovers

 

Cybercriminals are finding it easier than ever to run convincing social engineering schemes and identity theft operations, driven by the availability of customized voice-phishing (vishing) kits sold on dark web forums and private messaging channels.

According to a recent Okta Threat Intelligence blog published on Thursday, these phishing kits are being marketed as a service to “a growing number” of threat actors aiming to compromise Google, Microsoft, and Okta user accounts. Beyond fake login pages, the kits also provide real-time support that helps attackers capture login credentials and multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes while victims are actively being manipulated.

“There are at least two kits that implement the novel functionality observed,” Okta Threat Intelligence Vice President Brett Winterford told The Register.

“The phishing kits have been developed to closely mimic the authentication flows of identity providers and other identity systems used by organizations,” he said. “The kits allow the attacker to monitor the phishing page as the targeted user is interacting with it and trigger different custom pages that the target sees. This creates a more compelling pretext for asking the user to share credentials and accept multi-factor authentication challenges.”

Winterford noted that this form of attack has “evolved significantly since late 2025.” Some advertisements promoting these kits even seek to hire native English-speaking callers to make the scams more believable.

“These callers pretend to be from an organization's helpdesk and approach targets using the pretext of resolving a support ticket or performing a mandatory technical update,” Winterford said.

Similar tactics were observed last year when Scattered Spider-style IT support scams enabled attackers to breach dozens of Salesforce environments, resulting in mass data theft and extortion campaigns.

The attacks typically begin with reconnaissance. Threat actors collect details such as employee names, commonly used applications, and IT support contact numbers. This information is often sourced from company websites, LinkedIn profiles, and other publicly accessible platforms. Using chatbots to automate this research further accelerates the process.

Once prepared, attackers deploy the phishing kit to generate a convincing replica of a legitimate login page. Victims are contacted via spoofed company or helpdesk phone numbers and persuaded to visit the fraudulent site under the guise of IT assistance. “The attacks vary from there, depending on the attacker's motivation and their interactions with the user,” Winterford said.

When victims submit their login credentials, the data is instantly relayed to the attacker—often through a Telegram channel—granting access to the real service. While the victim remains on the call, the attacker attempts to log in and observes which MFA methods are triggered, modifying the phishing page in real time to match the experience.

Attackers then instruct victims to approve push notifications, enter one-time passcodes, or complete other MFA challenges. Because the fake site mirrors these requests, the deception becomes harder to detect.

“If presented a push notification (type of MFA challenge), for example, an attacker can verbally tell the user to expect a push notification, and select an option from their [command-and-control] panel that directs their target's browser to a new page that displays a message implying that a push message has been sent, lending plausibility to what would ordinarily be a suspicious request for the user to accept a challenge the user didn't initiate,” the report says.

Okta also warned that these kits can defeat number-matching MFA prompts by simply instructing users which number to enter, effectively neutralizing an added layer of security.

Once MFA is bypassed, attackers gain full control of the compromised account.

This research aligns with The Register’s previous reporting on “impersonation-as-a-service,” where cybercriminals bundle social engineering tools into subscription-based offerings.

“As a bad actor you can subscribe to get tools, training, coaching, scripts, exploits, everything in a box to go out and conduct your infiltration operation that often combine[s] these social engineering attacks with targeted ransomware, almost always with a financial motive,” security firm Nametag CEO Aaron Painter said in an earlier interview.

FBI Warns Airlines and Insurers as Scattered Spider Ransomware Attacks Surge

 

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sounds the alarm on cybersecurity, organizations should take immediate notice. The latest urgent warning involves the notorious Scattered Spider group, which has already made headlines for attacking major retailers such as Marks & Spencer in the U.K.—a breach estimated to have cost the company upwards of $600 million.

According to the FBI, this cybercriminal organization is now turning its focus to the airline sector, targeting companies both directly and by infiltrating their supply chains. A recent June 26 report by Halcyon ransomware analysts indicated Scattered Spider had expanded operations into the Food, Manufacturing, and Transportation sectors, especially Aviation. The FBI confirmed this, stating via email:

“The FBI has recently observed the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider expanding its targeting to include the airline sector.”

The agency also posted this statement on X, formerly Twitter, highlighting that the attackers use consistent tactics—namely social engineering. Scattered Spider often impersonates employees or contractors to manipulate IT help desks into granting unauthorized access. Their ultimate goal is to sidestep multi-factor authentication (MFA) by convincing support staff to register fraudulent MFA devices to compromised accounts.

This threat group has been on law enforcement radar for years. In 2023, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a joint advisory after Scattered Spider activity against commercial facilities escalated. Authorities are now working closely with aviation companies to counter this surge in attacks and assist any impacted organizations. The FBI urges anyone who suspects their business has been targeted to contact their local office without delay.

Meanwhile, the Reliaquest Threat Research Team has published a detailed profile of Scattered Spider, emphasizing that 81% of the group’s domains impersonate technology vendors. Their preferred victims are executives and system administrators with high-level credentials. Reliaquest reports that the attackers leverage sophisticated phishing frameworks such as Evilginx and even conduct video calls to deceive targets in industries like finance, technology, and retail.


Recent analysis has uncovered Scattered Spider’s connection to The Community, a loosely organized hacking collective. According to cybersecurity firm Reliaquest:

“Through strategic alliances with major ransomware operators ALPHV, RansomHub, and DragonForce…”

Scattered Spider has gained access to sophisticated tools and techniques, many of which originate from Russia-aligned and English-speaking threat actors. This collaboration has enabled the group to launch highly convincing impersonation campaigns targeting Western organizations.

Social Engineering with a Scripted Edge

To execute these campaigns more effectively, Scattered Spider actively recruits skilled social engineers. Their criteria are precise: candidates must speak native or regionally neutral English and be available during Western business hours. These operators are then equipped with:

Detailed call scripts tailored to the organization being targeted.

Real-time coaching, where a “curator” provides live guidance to handle unexpected situations during calls.

Reliaquest also noted that the group deliberately avoids targeting entities in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, suggesting both geopolitical awareness and operational discipline.

Future Threat: AI-Enhanced Social Engineering


Looking ahead, Reliaquest warns that Scattered Spider is likely to adopt AI tools to further automate and scale their trust-based attacks.

While the FBI’s recent alert focused on threats to the transportation and aviation sectors, other industries are already feeling the impact. John Hultquist, Chief Analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, confirmed:

“We are aware of multiple intrusions in the U.S. that bear all the hallmarks of Scattered Spider activity.”

The insurance sector has emerged as a prominent new target. Jon Abbott, CEO of ThreatAware, emphasized:

“The rising tide of attacks on U.S. insurers is a serious threat that should not be underestimated.”

However, he also cautioned that this trend is not limited to insurers; organizations across all industries should take it as a warning.

Supply Chain Weakness: The Common Denominator


Many of these incidents share a dangerous pattern: attackers first compromise a smaller vendor or partner, then use that access to pivot into larger, more valuable targets.

Richard Orange, Vice President at Abnormal AI, echoed the FBI’s concerns:

“This group relies on social engineering rather than technical exploits.”

By posing as trusted contacts, attackers manipulate employees into granting access—allowing them to move laterally across networks, harvest credentials, and breach other departments or third-party systems.

Security First: Verify Every Request


Organisations are strongly advised to:

  1. Scrutinise all requests for changes to multi-factor authentication (MFA) settings.
  2. Enforce strict identity verification procedures, regardless of how convincing the caller may seem.
  3. In this evolving threat landscape, vigilance remains the strongest defense.