Tech Support Scams Evolve
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 11/22/2016 11:03 AM
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Tech support scam lockers have emerged as the new variation on the old tech support front.
We all have either heard about or been face with a tech support scam. Once it was confined to cold calls where a scammer tries to convince a victim that there is something wrong with their system and they will gladly help you to fix it for a modest fee.
Then came the tech support scams that were based on a bit of java script embedded in malvertising that opens a scary web page that won't let you close it. For a few hundred dollars, the "tech" will use task manager and close out the session.
What has evolved is the tech support locker scam. This new version comes with malware executables that lock you out of your computer until you have to call the phone number.
Again, this malware is distributed by adware which act like other malware strains in that it may lay dormant for a while before it locks you out. These new strains are being marketed as a service.
Source: SCMagazine
We all have either heard about or been face with a tech support scam. Once it was confined to cold calls where a scammer tries to convince a victim that there is something wrong with their system and they will gladly help you to fix it for a modest fee. Then came the tech support scams that were based on a bit of java script embedded in malvertising that opens a scary web page that won't let you close it. For a few hundred dollars, the "tech" will use task manager and close out the session.
What has evolved is the tech support locker scam. This new version comes with malware executables that lock you out of your computer until you have to call the phone number.
Again, this malware is distributed by adware which act like other malware strains in that it may lay dormant for a while before it locks you out. These new strains are being marketed as a service.
Source: SCMagazine
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