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'Ransomware' scam
Guardsman
Posts: 991 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
This scam was mentioned on this forum but I cant find the link to it.
Trio arrested in Staffordshire over 'ransomware' scam
Three Britons have been arrested on suspicion of distributing malicious software known as "ransomware".
The program they are alleged to have used made victims believe their web browsing habits were being investigated by police.
The program stopped a PC working and displayed a warning message purportedly from the Metropolitan Police.
The message claimed illegal web use had been detected and demanded payment of a £100 fine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20724810
Trio arrested in Staffordshire over 'ransomware' scam
Three Britons have been arrested on suspicion of distributing malicious software known as "ransomware".
The program they are alleged to have used made victims believe their web browsing habits were being investigated by police.
The program stopped a PC working and displayed a warning message purportedly from the Metropolitan Police.
The message claimed illegal web use had been detected and demanded payment of a £100 fine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20724810
I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
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Comments
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I have had this happen twice, one was supposedly the Metropolitan Police, the second was Greater Manchester Police. Google throws up other options, such as West Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police and even Royal Canadian Mounted Police!
I presume these are all from the people who have been arrested.
If you do get one of these infections, shut down your computer, restart in Safe Mode With Wifi.
Although in normal mode the computer will lock up if you try to access the Web, in Safe Mode you can still do so. Download and run the latest version of Malwarebytes. This will find the culprit and get rid of it.0 -
You may find it still prevents access in safe mode with networking too. In that scenario boot to safe mode with command prompt and then start Windows Explorer (NOT Internet Explorer). You can then navigate the file system (EG: run mbam by navigating to program files & executing mbam.exe), run tools from USB flash drives etc.
If you've had it twice now David I would look at the infection vector and plug that hole - stop it getting in and there's nothing to remove.0 -
Let's hope they get a proper sentence!"Some folks are wise and some are otherwise." - Tobias Smollett0
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Kernel_Sanders wrote: »Why? Impersonating the police, blackmail, extortion....all these would be possible charges even before you consider recent digital crime legislation.
All add up, but they will probably get off with a modest fine, a suspended sentence if they do it again & some unpaid work.0
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