More on scareware
I have posted several times about phony anti-virus programs that try to scare you into paying for useless software or unwittingly install Trojans. It seems that this scam has become so profitable that crooks are piling into the “business”. Erik Larkin posts at PC World:
Chasing massive profits, crooks have unleased a flood of rogue antivirus programs that attempt to fool or scare unsuspecting PC users into forking over cash for an app that does nothing worthwhile.
According to the Antiphishing Working Group, the number of fake security programs skyrocketed from average of around 2,500 per month to 9,287 in December. The group’s latest report, covering the second half of 2008, says that while rogue AV has been around for years, it wasn’t until the middle of last year that crooks starting turning the fake apps into a serious money-making machine.
Never click on one of those pop-ups that claim to have scanned your system and found it infected. I show an example in this post.
Added later: At Computerworld, Gregg Keizer discusses a new twist called “ransomware”:
Cybercrooks have hit on a new twist to their aggressive marketing of fake security software and are duping users into downloading a file utility that holds users’ data for ransom, security researchers warned today.
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