What is 'Scareware' and How to Avoid Being Scammed

'Scareware' is not something that is new. It's been around for a lot of years. Recently the FBI announced a global effort to try to control this threat that has affected close to a million people.

With the help of 12 other nations the FBI has launched an operation called "Operation Trident Tribunal." The purpose of the operation is to crackdown on people who use this type of scam. This is a problem worldwide not just in the United States.

I have run across scareware, but know that you don't click on anything that just pops up on your computer screen out of the blue. Someone who is unfamiliar with the tactics that scareware software uses might easily fall into the trap.

What happens is that a message that looks quite alarming will pop up on your computer screen. It will probably be outlined in red and say that a number of threats have been found on your computer. It may even have a legitimate looking antivirus logo on it. There will be a button that says "remove all." Clicking on that button is when the real problems start.

Once you allow the pop up to load its software you will be given the option to have the threats removed, but there is a cost involved. Basically the software will hijack your computer. You won't be able to access your own antivirus software or go to any sites to help remove the scareware. It is extremely difficult to remove unless you pay them. Who in their right mind would want to pay someone under this kind of a circumstance?

I have had friends that have fallen into this trap. It is extremely difficult to remove the scareware from a computer. Sometimes it will result in the need to reformat the hard drive in order to free the computer from the scareware software.

Even closing the pop up window is sometimes difficult to do. The best thing to do is go into the task manager by pressing ctrl-alt-del, choose the application tab, and close the pop up window that way. Even if you think the pop up is legitimate your best option is to close the pop up, and then open your antivirus software to perform a scan of your computer. You can never be too cautious.

Scareware scammers have been getting away with their malicious behavior for a lot of years, and the FBI has estimated that this scam has cost over 70 million dollars to its victims worldwide. It's about time that someone tried to crackdown on these thieves. If you ever have this happen to you, don't pay these creeps. Report the problem to the FBI, and try to remove the scareware from your computer. They are successful because people pay them.

Source:

Personal experience

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/june/cyber_062211/