SCAM ALERT: Facebook Ads selling FAKE Ebos are making consumers super angry
Guardio Research Team
Insights & Guidance
Reviewed by
Sharon Blatt Cohen
Sharon Blatt Cohen
Head of Marketing & Security Expert at Guardio
Sharon leads marketing and security initiatives at Guardio, bringing creative ideas to life. A passionate traveler, she combines her expertise in marketing with a love for discovering new places.
December 4, 2019
•
2
min read
Love Cats? Look out for this Facebook Scam. Ebo is looking like one of this year's popular gifts, making it an attractive scam for cybercriminals.
Table of Contents
Love Cats? Look out for this Facebook Scam. Ebo is looking like one of this year's popular gifts, making it an attractive scam for cybercriminals.
Key Takeaways
If you or someone you know has a cat, you've probably heard of Ebo.
Ebo is a smart, small robot that rolls around the house autonomously. It's designed to keep your cat company, engage with them, and provide stimulation for when they are home alone.
Ebo began on Kickstarter and is becoming a popular gift for the upcoming holidays or simply for people who like buying items for their pets, making it an attractive scam for cybercriminals.
How does the scam work?
Scammers create ads on Facebook posing as Ebo sellers that lead to a cloned site that looks like Ebo's Kickstarter page.
The cloned sites manipulate innocent customers by stealing the videos, texts, and images from the original page. These sites look so real and have left many angry customers who received robots that aren't nearly as smart or neat-looking as the real Ebo.
Ebo themselves posted a warning on their Facebook warning people from the fake ads and saying that the only place to get the real Ebo is from their Kickstarter page:
How can I protect myself from falling for fake Facebook ads?
When there is a popular product, there will be scams trying to steal a piece of the pie. Follow these safety rules to make sure you get the original item:
Go the Facebook page that posted the ad and check if it's the original page.
Look at the bottom of the ad to see what site it leads to. For example, in the Ebo scam, many led to a site called "Arriba" which is nowhere near the Kickstarter domain.
Use a browsing security tool that will detect cloned sites before you enter them. Guardio, for example, will give you an alert so that even if you clicked the ad, you would know this site is dangerous, and you can back out.
Keep track of your bank statements. Did you order something from Kickstarter but were charged by someone else? That should be a red flag.
Report to Facebook about fake ads so that you can help protect others. Alert the company that's being copied so that they can be aware and help protect their customers too.
Make sure you have a personal safety plan in place. If you believe someone is stalking you online and may be putting you at risk of harm, don’t remove suspicious apps or confront the stalker without a plan. The Coalition Against Stalkerware provides a list of resources for anyone dealing with online stalking, monitoring, and harassment.
Guardio Security Team
Guardio’s Security Team researches and exposes cyber threats, keeping millions of users safe online. Their findings have been featured by Fox News, The Washington Post, Bleeping Computer, and The Hacker News, making the web safer — one threat at a time.
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About the Author
Guardio Research Team
Insights & Guidance
Guardio’s research team closely monitors phishing scams, identity theft tricks, and emerging online threats, sharing what we learn to help you stay safe.