Yes, I've seen this one or a variant of it without the phone number to call. The
US-CERT [
US-CERT | United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team] folks have dubbed this category of virus,
"SCAREWARE", as it
"scares" people not knowledgeable about computers into calling a non-legit outfit pretending to be Microsoft representatives.
Here is the Microsoft site to remove this virus:
SupportScam:MSIL/Hicurdismos.A The
SCAREWARE category has been out for about a year now, and attempts to lure the user into thinking they've run into the incredibly nasty and difficult to remove
RANSOMWARE category of viruses, such as the infamous
CRYPTO LOCKER, GAME OVER, and NEMUCOD viruses. The differences here are that the
SCAREWARE viruses don't actually lock your computer (windows boot lockout) or encrypt all your files and folders and demand you pay them a Ransom in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. Those viruses actually put a demand amount right on your Screen containing the error message (Blue Screen, Black Screen, or the FBI screen); or into a small text file stored on your windows desktop background as an icon. This virus just gives you a phone number and attempts to scare you into calling the virus authors, then once on the phone will attempt to extort payment from you to remove the fake error message. Or worse, once on the phone they will ask the user for permission to remote into their computer and from their they can take control, get the User's windows password and other critical information such as online bank account information and other private information pins, etc. to perpetrate Identity Theft.
These
SCAREWARE viruses really are intended to fool Senior Citizens, as they are the least computer-knowledgeable segment of our population. Especially those seniors in their 80s and 90s who were born before the invention of the computer (1946), and did not grow up in the digital age.
Most of these folks can never catch up with their computer learning during their lifetimes, and therefore are primary targets for this type of scheme.
I've been teaching seniors for over 10 years and I see this on a daily basis. Several of us here besides me also do a lot of work with seniors and that age group as well; we talk about methods of prevention and education regularly.
You can read more about this here:
Ransomware and Recent Variants at the
US-CERT site. What's really needed is for people to report these viruses to both the Government and to the Antivirus software makers so that they can study them and develop antidotes for them to distribute to the public in their products. Many folks are afraid to report these viruses to the Government as they are afraid they'll be tracked or something, which is untrue. So, we computer professionals tend to be the ones who report the viruses to the Government as well as send them samples of the viruses captured in the "wild" so to speak. I've been doing this since 1980. Reporting this virus you have to major AV software makers such as Symantec-Norton, McAfee, and Avast would be a help, if you are interested in being a good "netizen". It's completely optional; if you are not comfortable doing so, it's not a problem at all. Just letting you know that there is a worldwide movement to curtail and contain this type of virus from spreading throughout the Internet.
Hope that provides you with some insight.
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