Angèle could do without being at the top of this ranking!

Wednesday 09th October 2024 12:35 PM

It may be 2024, but the risks of being scammed on the Internet are still there, and cybersecurity has never been more crucial. Guess who is at the top of the celebrities most exploited to scam Internet users? Angèle, of course (there was a clue in the title). The Belgian singer, already an undisputed star of the music scene, also finds herself at the top of the ranking of personalities most used by hackers to deceive Internet users.

Photo: Angèle’s Instagram

Celebrities, a gateway for hackers

According to McAfee, which publishes its annual report, It’s Angèle’s name that you are most likely to come across on dubious sites..

This ranking is not a surprise. Angèle, thanks to her remarkable performance at the closing of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and her hit songs, is still in the spotlight. But being at the top has its price: its name is now a gateway for cybercriminals. Behind her, we find actors like Timothée Chalamet or Pierre Nineyalso widely used to attract fans to infected sites. Whether for fraudulent downloads or deepfake videos, these scammers are taking full advantage of the celebrity of these stars.

Timothée Chalamet is also widely used by pirates

Why does it work?

Are you looking to download Angèle’s music for free? Be careful, you risk coming across platforms which, instead of offering you your favorite song, infect you with malware. Hackers know how to use these popular searches to trap Internet users. Deepfakes, these hyper-realistic fake videos, complicate things even more. These false contents have become formidable weapons for stealing data or pushing victims to click on dangerous links. This is especially true for older people or those who are not very aware of technological advances linked to AI and fakes in general.

How to protect yourself from these scams?

The solution? A little common sense and some cybersecurity tools. First, don’t click on just any link, especially on unreliable sites. Next, equip yourself with a good antivirus, especially if you are on a PCalways keeping it up to date. And above all, avoid offers that are too good to be true. Remember: if something seems too perfect, it’s most likely a trap.

Celebrities like Angèle will unfortunately continue to be used by pirates, but you can avoid falling into the trap with a minimum of vigilance.