Suspected fake internet cop trio collared by real cops
Ransomware demanded on-the-spot £100 fines from victims
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UK cops have arrested three people in Staffordshire on suspicion of running a ransomware scam that fooled victims into paying £100 fines.
A 34-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman from Stoke-on-Trent were cuffed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of items for use in fraud. A 26-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. All three were taken in for questioning at a Staffordshire police station.
Ransomware malware usually works by preventing an infected computer from starting up or encrypts the PC's documents. Punters have to pay a non-trivial amount to the fraudster who planted the malware to regain control of their machine and files.
In this case, it's alleged the ransomware was used to halt the computer and display a bogus warning from the Metropolitan Police Service accusing the user of committing offences online. The "splash" screen for the software would claim the plod had monitored the victim's activities on the internet. The mark would then have to pay a penalty of £100 to unlock the machine.
In reality, police in the UK don't levy on-the-spot fines via downloaded software, but that hasn't stopped miscreants from developing strains of ransomware that try to pull off this type of con. A screenshot of a typical notice generated by bogus police ransomware can be found in this write-up of the Reveton Trojan by Trend Micro .
Ransomware scams have become increasingly prevalent in recent months, and that may have sparked this latest investigation by officers from the Met's Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU).
PCeU detectives based in London and the outfit's North West hub, along with officers from Staffordshire Police, searched three addresses on 11 December before arresting the trio.
In a statement, Detective Inspector Jason Tunn, from the PCeU, said: "The arrests show we are determined to combat this type of crime. I remind all computer users that police do not use such a method to impose or enforce fines, so if you are confronted by such a page do not enter any of your details." ®
COMMENTS
bugawk!
I know someone who got one of these, realised it for what it was, a scam, but didn't know how to get it off their laptop. They took the laptop to a local IT repair business & the clueluess guy who works there decided that he couldn't get it off without spending time & money decrypting the hard-drive ( I'm not sure why he'd need that but it made the work sound so much more difficult to the laptops owner) , so formatted the drive & lost all of the owners Uni Work & pictures (they'd finished their degree but never backed up anything.... ) then charged them £50 .....
They ended up getting the virus again, asked me to look at it & within 5 minutes I'd got rid of the offending file & registry information. Fixed for a pint of beer & it only needed a 5 minute search on google....
Some Local IT businesses can be ajust as crooked, in their own way!
** I've told the owner to stop downloading Mongolian goat flute porn!
Re: Such a method
But at least you had a good idea they were the real law when they burst in with machine guns!!!
"police do not use such a method to impose or enforce fines"
No, judging from what we have heard about the Murdoch gang, they are much more subtle.
One is "helping journalists in the course of their inquiries" sourcing information and cell numbers. Others handed over some Royals itinerary for a 'donation'.
They do that in many countries, it's called "Soliciting or Accepting a Bribe".
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