Ransomware schemes involve the distribution of malicious applications on the Web. These are designed to perpetuate fraud and scams that can line the pockets of criminal groups and scammers with huge amounts of money. Several years ago, malware programs that were disguised as legitimate system security tools managed to trick a lot of users into installing these fake products.
Upon installation, the rogue system security tool starts to display obtrusive alerts in the user's device. These are laced with fake urgency claims and scare rhetoric about non-existent threats. This is designed to force the user to pay for the premium version of the bogus software product. For the past few years, there have been several variants of ransomware, all of which are devised to augment the other fraud and scams of its authors.
Some fraudsters and criminal syndicates went the direct route. That's to distribute malware all over the Web so as to penetrate unprotected devices and hijack its system by encrypting all its data. A full screen message is then displayed, telling users to pay a ransom in exchange for access to their devices. Similar fraud and scams were reported all around the Internet, many of which were posted by victims as scam complaints and Web crime reports in online communities like Big Scammers.
A few years back, many organized criminal groups designed a system to victimize unsuspecting users, most of whom were in their senior years. They purchase stolen contact details of their intended victims from hacked databases. They then call their target users, posing as official tech support agents of credible tech companies. They then scare their victims into thinking that their devices are infected by high risk malware like viruses, spyware, worms and hacker rootkits. Some asked for a hefty fee to fix this non-existent problem, while others fool users into downloading and installing rogue anti-virus software that's designed to perpetuate similar fraud and scams mentioned above.
Through the years, more sophisticated variants of tech support fraud and scams have been reported in sites like Big Scammers. Large numbers of users in the USA continue to be victimized, and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) started to send out constant reminders and alerts to American users last year. They began doing this after noticing a huge growth in the prevalence of similar confidence schemes and social manipulation tactics. Now, there's a new breed of criminal syndicates out there with an improved version of fake tech support.
How Tech Support Fraud and Scams Are Committed Today
The latest tech support fraud and scams make use of a combination of ransomware and fake urgency claims. Malicious code is integrated into illegitimate sites, which are promoted all over the Internet in ways that lure a lot of users to visit these Web platforms. Sometimes, authors of these new tech support scams manage to compromise legitimate sites with large numbers of regular users. When they land on these sites, an automatic function is then triggered to secretly download and install malware in the user's device.
Once this malicious code initiates in the compromised device, it then unloads functions for system freezes and Web browser hijacks. Just like other types of fraud and scams, a message is displayed in the user's device. This is designed to trick users into calling a toll free number that's falsely promoted as the official support numbers of household tech brands like Apple, Microsoft and Google among others.
When unsuspecting users call this number, they talk to a scammer who poses as a legitimate tech support agent of a popular tech company. They're then tricked into paying for a service fee to fix their device. These are the newest forms of tech support fraud and scams today.
To avoid this scam, it's best to install an effective anti-malware tool from a reputable company in your device. It should have real time scanning and blocking features that can help you avoid these types of tech support fraud and scams. In case your device has already been compromised, don't call the number that's displayed in the pop-up message. Instead, call the official tech support number of your device manufacturer or OS (operating system) developer. Better yet, sign up at BigScammers.Com to receive real time alerts about the newest variants of tech support fraud. This way, you'll be able to recognize possible scams before it's too late.
