The European Union warns that pirated sites can lead users to malware and other unwanted content. Unfortunately, the EU also has its own piracy problem; its official website continues to be exploited by bad actors to advertise hacking related scams. Meanwhile, male enhancement gummies, Onlyfans hacks, gift card generators and other scams are also being promoted.
The European Union recognizes that online piracy poses a serious threat to copyright holders and the general public.
Last December, the EU published an updated version of its biannual report piracy and counterfeit watch listcalling out some of the worst offenders.
"Infringements of intellectual property rights, in particular counterfeiting and piracy on a commercial scale, pose a serious problem for the European Union," the EU Commission wrote.
The report explained that unauthorized activity leads to "high financial losses" for copyright holders. Members of the public also face risks, such as hacking-related malware and scammers bent on getting their credit card details.
Europa.eu pirate scammers
When the EU published these words of caution, its flagship domain name europa.eu was already being exploited by hacking related scamsincluding the worst kind: credit card phishing spam.
When we alerted the European Commission to our findings, a spokesperson informed us that the source of the incident had been identified and that appropriate steps had been taken to resolve the matter.
โPlatform stakeholders have already taken the necessary measures, such as deleting suspicious files and blocking further upload attempts. We are closely monitoring the situation and continue to scan websites for suspicious files," the spokesperson said.
The piracy problem persists
Despite these reassuring words and the passage of three months, the problem has still not been resolved. Basic searches reveal that the Europa.eu portals have been plagued with thousands of piracy-related advertisements, with new ones added daily.
The EU hosts a wide variety of projects on its official domain, and several allow outsiders to contribute content. It seems that this weakness is easily exploited, but it is difficult to patch.
Below is just one of many piracy-related ads, promoting a 123movies website where people can supposedly stream movies for free.
These and other variants appear on europa.eu and subdomains including school-education.ec.europa.eu, atlantic-maritime-strategy.ec.europa.eu, esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu, and more.
Like many others, the ad shown above arrives as a PDF file containing a link to the destination site. In this case, the link goes to a dubious movie platform that has absolutely nothing to do with 123movies.
Identity fraud
Would-be hackers who click the link see a fictional streaming site, which may display short movie intros. Interestingly, the scam streaming site appears to block certain countries, but by using an American IP address, we managed to get in.
After a short introduction, users are asked to register. We tried to sign up, but decided to cancel the mission when our antivirus software confirmed a phishing scam.
โPhishing websites persuade you to reveal personal details such as login or credit card details, usually by pretending to be a legitimate source. It uses social engineering to trick you," the warning read.
The same scam ads also promote specific movies, such as "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." The same goes for popular TV series like HBO's "The Last of Us."
TorrentFreak has reached out to the Commission again for an update on how it views the issue, but we have not heard back. When we last asked about the matter a few weeks ago, a spokesperson informed us that the EU "will not comment further on this matter."
IPTV, UFC and the Super Bowl
The EU must have its reasons for the lack of communication, but the spam only seems to be getting worse. In addition to the classic pirate streaming sites, shady IPTV services are also advertised.
Several advertisements on the Europa.eu site link to tv.elaalam.com, which promises access to virtually every content imaginable, including live sports. You have to pay first of course.
Whether this is a total scam or not is irrelevant at this point. The EU previously called pirated IPTV services and is in discussions with rights holders to better protect yourself against live streaming hacking. Inadvertently serving ads for these services at the same time is not ideal.
Spam doesn't stop at pirated IPTV services either. We have seen scam ads ufc streamsPremier League matches, NBA matches, NASCAR races, and even the mighty Super Bowl has a dedicated promotion on Europa.eu.
male enhancement gummies
It should be clear by now that there is a spam problem, but the deeper we dig, the more dirt we find. Want hack instagram? need a onlyfans hacked account? or a free money money generator app There is an ad for that.
Gift cards also seem to be quite popular; Google Play, Xbox, Amazon or Playstation, whatever. Even physical needs can be met if you believe in magic.
โCBD Male Enhancement Gummiesโ for โLonger Staying Powerโ stood out to us in this regard; literally.
Upload filter?
The above shows that the problem is rampant. However, that does not mean that the EU is completely ignoring it. Several of the fraudulent advertisements have been remote and the demolitions are ongoing.
That being said, the spam spate continues and has been for at least three months. while we were working dozens of new PDF files were uploaded in this article.
In recent years, the EU has passed legislation to ensure that large online platforms use technical tools like upload filters to tackle online piracy. Perhaps that could also be an option for Europa.eu?
