Imagine this alert on your screen. Scary thought, right? This message is intended to scare users into calling the toll-free number. The problem is, these alerts are fake. There is nothing wrong with the computer.The goal of the scam is to trick users into paying unnecessary and costly support services. The scam associates itself with well known brands such as Microsoft. Once the fake virus “infects” the computer, the browser appears to be locked.
A robotic voice blares alarming messages such as pornography, credit card theft, and personal information loss, and the authorities will be contacted. Just imagine you're in a work environment and that comes over your computer. The scam succeeds when the user allows remote control of the “infected” computer. Hoax Phone #s First Seen Last Seen Days 1-866-753-2724 2018--11-26 14 1-844-696-3229 2018--11-25 11 1-877-596-2586 2018--11-25 56 1-800-060-8933 2018--11-25 8 1-888-668-0280 2018--11-23 11 1-844-874-6038 2018--11-23 1 1-866-932-8122 2018--11-21 33 1-855-360-5666 2018--11-20 1 1-801-406-7933 2018--11-11 1 1-888-884-3701 2018--11-09 1 1-888-984-3990 2018--11-08 38 1-888-344-2043 2018--11-08 15 1-888-344-2036 2018--11-07 1.
Although the Fake Virus reputes to be from Microsoft, it can hit any platform including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and OSX. The fake virus enters the computer through a compromised web page and freezes the browser and exhorts to call a toll free number. The toll free number operator then attempts to gain control of the computer in order to 'remove' the virus and charge fees ranging from $200 - $600. Two quick lessons.
Only let people you trust to have control of your computer. Don't call the fake virus phone numbers unless you are bored. On Windows and Mac computers, one must kill the browser which has become frozen.
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On Windows computers, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, choose task manager, find the frozen browser, and hit 'kill task'. On Mac computers, hit CMD+Option+ESC, find the frozen browser, and hit 'Force Quit'.
Reinitiate the browser. If there is an option to restore tabs, respond negatively.
Another option to restore options is to reboot the computer. On Android and OSX devices, reboot is the only option. As frustrating as this fake virus scam can be, rest assured there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Fake Virus exploits a Javascript bug in browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Edge.
The compromised web site delivers a Javascript alert which is a dialog box that is placed over the screen. The alert is then placed in an infinite loop. No matter what the user clicks, the dialog box returns. When placed in this state, the tab and browser are unresponsive and appears to be locked. The screen and the dialog box both reinforce the message that there is a virus and they must call the toll free number. Hoax URLs Last Seen Days 2018-11-26 1 2018-11-26 1 2018-11-25 1 2018-11-25 1 2018-11-25 1 2018-11-25 1 2018-11-23 1 2018-11-23 1 2018-11-21 1 2018-11-19 1 2018-11-18 1 2018-11-18 1 2018-11-17 1 2018-11-17 1 2018-11-17 1. URLs for Fake Virus Scams pop up almost as fast as they can be counted.
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