You heard that right. While Rey and Kylo from Star Wars aren’t actually using the Force to see your usernames and passwords, many hackers are using “Star Wars” to set up fake websites and downloads. They want to trick people who are excited about the movie. You should stay away from these scams just like the Millennium Falcon avoids asteroids.
We can all agree that piracy is wrong, no matter how you feel about the latest Star Wars movie, whether you’ve seen it many times, or whatever reasons you might have for trying to find a leaked copy online.
If you don’t want to talk about right and wrong, here’s a simple reason to avoid piracy: Many websites claim to offer “legitimate” downloads of the movie, but these sites might only look real because they show up a lot in search results and on social media.
Don’t be tricked. You’ll come across many clever scams. Security experts at Kaspersky have recently warned about this in a press release:
“The domains of websites used for gathering personal data and spreading malicious files usually copy the official name of the film and provide thorough descriptions and supporting content, thereby fooling users into believing that the website is, in some way, connected to the official film. Such practice is called ‘black SEO,’ which enables criminals to promote phishing websites high up in search engine results (such results often show up for search terms such as ‘name-of-the-film watch free’).”
Don’t get fooled by phishing promises

Remember the golden rule of the internet: If something feels off, don’t do it. If a website asks for your personal information to download or watch “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” don’t give it. If a website wants you to install something extra to see the film, say no.
Avoid taking surveys. Don’t download extra programs on your computer just to avoid buying a $10 movie ticket. Never give out your email address. Remember, a movie file should not end with “.EXE.”
Whatever you do, never give out your financial information just to find a new, popular movie for free. Don’t create an account on a website with the same login details you use elsewhere, hoping to get a special download.
Always check the website’s URL to make sure it’s really the official site, like for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” And use common sense; it’s unlikely that the official site would ask for a lot of personal information just to set up an account or access its content.
Does this sound ridiculous? Are you shaking your head? I might be too, but many people have already fallen for scams related to “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
Kaspersky found that 83 people were tricked, and there are more than 65 fake copies of the movie out there. And these numbers are expected to increase, as Kaspersky has reported.
“In 2019, Kaspersky detected 285,103 attempts to infect 37,772 users seeking to watch movies of the renowned space-opera series, a 10% rise compared to last year. The number of unique files used to target the users amounted to 11,499, a 30% drop from last year.”