Bogus security software & fake ads
Wired - Authorities in several countries have reportedly busted up parts of a $74 million scareware ring after conducting a series of multinational raids.
The raids, in Latvia, Britain, the United States and several other countries, focused on seizing servers and bank accounts that members of two gangs allegedly used to rake in about $74 million by tricking computer users into buying fake anti-virus programs and services, according to the BBC.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Trident Tribunal, involved about a million victims who were tricked into paying $129 for bogus security software after being told their computers were infected with viruses.
The victims were lured to fake websites advertising a free virus scan. But when they visited the site, their computers were infected with scareware that popped up messages on their screen, indicating their computer was infected. The only way to get rid of the infection, they were warned, was by buying and installing the security program the scammers were peddling. This scam took in about $72 million from victims. More
