Fake Virus Alert Scam
Scareware doesn’t just exploit panic, it creates panic
You are working from home, web browser open to whatever resources you need to write a paper, prepare a class, review a budget, or whatever else you need to get your job done. Suddenly a window you didn’t ask for appears on your screen. It may look sort of like a normal security product or perhaps it is flashing red and yellow. There may even be - no kidding - sirens. The message seared into your eyes tells you that your computer is infectedwith viruses, possibly hundreds of them. The message says your data may be stolen, or erased, or both. The message tells you that it is urgent that you click a link to buy and download an antivirus product and/or call a phone number where you will be able to buy a support contract (they just need your bank’s routing number and your account number and they will take care of the details). If you try to close this window, it wither won’t close or gets replaced by more such windows. In any case, the message is telling you that the most important thing for you to do immediately is to panic. The pop-up window is doing it’s very best to get you to act without asking any questions.
This type of malware has become quite common and falls into a class called ‘scareware’. The goal is to get you to act without thinking about what you’re doing. If the window won’t go away, turn your computer off and then back on. Some scareware is attached to your browser and will only reappear when you start whichever browser you were using before. Other scareware is installed as a program and may reappear when your computer restarts. It can be extremely annoying, but the real threat is the link and/or phone number that you are asked to use to fix the problem. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK AND/OR DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER.
General Rule: Anything, windows, email, articles, etc. that you see on your computer that seems to be trying to induce panic, is probably trying to do just that. Stay calm and think, don’t click!
Here are some references where you can find out more:
Posted: June 15, 2020, 4:25 PM