Scammers are back at it, recycling their old tricks with a fresh coat of paint. This time, they’re abusing Google and YouTube ads to push fake TradingView Premium offers.
The bad actors lure victims in with ads that look legitimate, promising steep discounts on TradingView Premium subscriptions. Once clicked, the ads redirect users to carefully crafted phishing domains that mimic the real service. Instead of a subscription, victims end up handing over payment details to criminals, or in some cases, downloading malware disguised as trading software.
This isn’t a brand-new scheme. The same campaign had previously thrived on Meta’s ad network, only to be repackaged for Google and YouTube. The shift shows how fraudsters adapt quickly, moving their operations to whichever platforms offer the cheapest access to eyeballs.
TradingView remains a prime target because of its popularity and reputation among traders. By hijacking the trust users place in recognizable brands and legitimate advertising platforms, scammers continue to blur the line between authentic offers and cleverly staged fraud.
Full research and IOCs are available in the original report on Bitdefender Labs:
Stay sharp. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
