You’ve got to hand it to them. Today’s cybercriminals are more creative than ever, using continually evolving techniques to worm their way into your computer (and, ultimately, your wallet). Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of their sneakiest tactics, scareware. It combines a classic scammer motivation – fear – with some pretty convincing technological fireworks. Scareware preys upon our fears to make us take actions that ultimately end up compromising our own security. Nasty, isn’t it? So, without further ado, let’s go over what a scareware scam looks like and how to avoid it.
What to Look For: If it makes you panic, it’s probably scareware Danger! Warning! Your computer has been infected by a virus! This is the siren call of the scareware scammer. Most often, scareware masquerades as security software, presenting itself as a way to protect your computer when, in fact, it is out to steal your personal information or lure you into a false transaction?like getting you to download (and pay for!) fake security software. These fake security scammers will create very legitimate looking pop-up “alert” or “update” windows or online advertisements, often leading you to believe your computer is at risk of a security breach.
Why they’ll do it: Reasons to be scared of scareware From there they will ask you to install their software, accept their recommended updates, or remove detected viruses or spyware. Of course, none of these threats is true. But if you do click through, their rogue security software downloads to your computer. If their bogus software is downloaded onto your computer, a variety of outcomes could occur. They might run a “false” security check, tell you that you have a virus, and scare you into paying them for more fake products. This not only rips you off, but also gives you an untrue sense of security since you are clearly NOT protected from the many cyber threats out there today. Oh, and one other thing. You’ve just given your sensitive credit card information to a criminal enterprise. Not good. They could use this to raid your accounts themselves, or pass it along to one of their other crooked buddies who could then use it to steal your identity. In the worse case scenario, you could find yourself victim of extortion. This particularly devious scam software will actually allow the creator to hijack your computer or lock up your personal information. Your PC is then held for ransom and demands for payment are made in order to release your computer back to you.
What you need to do: Keep surfing along…and don’t give out that info If you see a pop-up ad or receive a message along these lines, steer your mouse as far away from the ‘download’ button as you can. Use your common sense?if a message appears on your screen screaming dire warnings of imminent doom if you don’t use their product RIGHT NOW, then it is probably a scam. But don’t let that keep you from purchasing and downloading antivirus software and other Internet security software from well-known, reputable companies like Norton. This way, if you do accidentally attempt to download a malicious program, they’ll keep you alert and protected.
One last thing: The silly side of scareware Basically, anything that exists to make you panic, freak out, or otherwise lose your cool, is scareware and has actually been around for many, many years. Way back in 1991, a program called NightMare was distributed to Amiga computers. After lying dormant for an extended and random amount of time, it would spring to life, taking the entire computer screen over with an image of a skull while playing a horrific screech over the audio channels. To sum things up…scareware is scary. But you have the power to avoid it, absolutely. Use your common sense, don’t download anything from a company you don’t trust and haven’t researched, and protect yourself with programs from respected Internet security companies.
What to Look For: If it makes you panic, it’s probably scareware Danger! Warning! Your computer has been infected by a virus! This is the siren call of the scareware scammer. Most often, scareware masquerades as security software, presenting itself as a way to protect your computer when, in fact, it is out to steal your personal information or lure you into a false transaction?like getting you to download (and pay for!) fake security software. These fake security scammers will create very legitimate looking pop-up “alert” or “update” windows or online advertisements, often leading you to believe your computer is at risk of a security breach.
Why they’ll do it: Reasons to be scared of scareware From there they will ask you to install their software, accept their recommended updates, or remove detected viruses or spyware. Of course, none of these threats is true. But if you do click through, their rogue security software downloads to your computer. If their bogus software is downloaded onto your computer, a variety of outcomes could occur. They might run a “false” security check, tell you that you have a virus, and scare you into paying them for more fake products. This not only rips you off, but also gives you an untrue sense of security since you are clearly NOT protected from the many cyber threats out there today. Oh, and one other thing. You’ve just given your sensitive credit card information to a criminal enterprise. Not good. They could use this to raid your accounts themselves, or pass it along to one of their other crooked buddies who could then use it to steal your identity. In the worse case scenario, you could find yourself victim of extortion. This particularly devious scam software will actually allow the creator to hijack your computer or lock up your personal information. Your PC is then held for ransom and demands for payment are made in order to release your computer back to you.
What you need to do: Keep surfing along…and don’t give out that info If you see a pop-up ad or receive a message along these lines, steer your mouse as far away from the ‘download’ button as you can. Use your common sense?if a message appears on your screen screaming dire warnings of imminent doom if you don’t use their product RIGHT NOW, then it is probably a scam. But don’t let that keep you from purchasing and downloading antivirus software and other Internet security software from well-known, reputable companies like Norton. This way, if you do accidentally attempt to download a malicious program, they’ll keep you alert and protected.
One last thing: The silly side of scareware Basically, anything that exists to make you panic, freak out, or otherwise lose your cool, is scareware and has actually been around for many, many years. Way back in 1991, a program called NightMare was distributed to Amiga computers. After lying dormant for an extended and random amount of time, it would spring to life, taking the entire computer screen over with an image of a skull while playing a horrific screech over the audio channels. To sum things up…scareware is scary. But you have the power to avoid it, absolutely. Use your common sense, don’t download anything from a company you don’t trust and haven’t researched, and protect yourself with programs from respected Internet security companies.