If you’re fond of torrent websites at all you’re probably aware that Kickasstorrents, one of the most popular torrent destinations on the web, was taken down recently. The first takedown, which was tied to the arrest of alleged founder Artem Vaulin, was only temporary. A clone site popped up, only to be taken down as well. And now the Kickasstorrents clone is back. And you shouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
That’s because whoever is running the Kickasstorrents clone, KAT.am (which we’re not going to link to from here), seems to be after your credit card information. The site looks much the same as it ever did but when users attempt to download torrent files they’re asked to sign up for a ‘free’ account. A free account tied to a completely different service that asks for credit card information. We probably don’t have to point out where this is going.
As TorrentFreak points out, this new Kickasstorrents clone was probably picked up by scammers after the original KAT.am mirror site was shut down. The domain was simply recycled, allowing anyone with the cash to purchase it and, as it happens, turn it into a portal for harvesting credit card info from anyone silly enough to sign up.
They (whoever ‘they’ might be) seem to be relying on confusion related to the original site’s shutdown and the mirror springing into operation — before being taken down in turn — in order to suck in users. So, like the headline says, Kickasstorrents is back. Don’t use it.
Source: via The Next Web