My computer was held ransom and I panicked. I knew some virus had been downloaded and it shut me down. Since I need my computer to do my work, I was willing to do anything to get it up and running. This scary event was a scam. Cyberthieves send out software to make you send personal information like credit card numbers. Although this happened a few years ago, the memory is fresh in my mind. When I got nailed, I called a service that asked me to give them “remote access” to my computer. I knew that this was a bad idea, but in my desperation I gave them the ability to control my computer from who knows where. I assume this third-party “fixed” my computer, but who knows what kind of malware they downloaded. I felt stupid doing this and my computer never ran right after that. The basic scam involved is called “ransomware.” A third party injects some malware to make it seem that you’ve lost control of your computer. Then they deceive you into thinking that only they can rescue you, so you pay them to unlock your computer. According to the FBI , ransomware scams are on the rise: – “Ransomware has been around for several years, but there’s been a definite uptick lately in its use by cyber criminals. When ransomware first hit the scene, computers predominately became infected with it when users opened e-mail attachments that contained the malware. But more recently, we’re seeing an increasing number of incidents involving so-called “drive-by” ransomware, where users can infect their computers simply by clicking on a compromised website, often lured there by a deceptive e-mail or pop-up window. Launch Gallery Another new trend involves the ransom payment method. While some of the earlier ransomware scams […]
