Online we see malware, scareware and fake virus software all too often. The problem seems to be growing and while the majority of tech savvy individuals can now spot many of these tricks a mile off as more and more people start using the internet new marks become available every day.
Not content with the massive market of online marks Malware and bogus Virus Software companies are taking to high pressure cold calling techniques to get people to download their rubbish – and pay for the privilege.
There are numerous pitches, but they have one thing in common – they sound professional and extremely feasible to anyone who is not technically minded.
One such pitch asks that the user test their computer by going to Start – Run – Then type Prefetch.
Apparently doing so brings up a list of infected files on the computer. This is not the case it simply brings up a list of files in the prefetch directory and have nothing to do with malware.
With a professional pitch combined with the fear that people have of Trojans and Key loggers etc it is easy to see how they can sell this idea to people. They take it one step further with the classic if you pay now you can get at a ridiculous discount but if you do not take advantage of the special offer you pay a ridiculous price. What’s wrong with AVG or AVAST People?
What makes this scam even worse is that when the antivirus software is actually purchased they badge it with a legitimate name ensuring that if further investigation takes place the victim is unlikely to notice that they have something dangerous.
Far from just selling antivirus with high pressure sales calls what they are actually selling is a nice package of malware, adware and key logging software so the chances are they will later hack in to your online banking and empty your bank account as well. Plus they charge £70 for the privilege.
I’m amazed scammers find this worth their while. This is like olde-worlde scamming, involving real con-artist time and actual con-artist skill. This is a major step backwards from scam websites and phishing, where you could attempt to scam thousands with no additional effort on your part.
Is the interweb no longer delivering the promised increased productivity to scammers? What’s next? Hustlers approaching you in the street, offering to “fix” your iPhone?
Was thinking exactly the same, cool site, thanks.
Thats some good basics there, already knew some of that, but you can always learn . I doubt a “kid” could put together such information as dolphin278 suggested. Maybe he’s just trying to be “controversial? lol