Scareware tries to con file-sharers

Internet security firm F-Secure has found a trojan that tries to con people in a peculiar way. The trojan, that targets file sharers, opens a dialogue window in which it states: “Warning, piracy detected”. The program then indicates that it has found illegal material on the user’s hard drive.

It is suspected that the scareware, to function more accurately, scans the infected hard drive for the presence of .torrent files to present them as ‘evidence’.

The program announces to be issued by the non-existing organisation the ICPP-Foundation and pretends to act on behalf of the entertainment industry. In the window, the logos of the MPAA and the RIAA are portrayed. The user is then charged with illegal downloading, an act that, according to the program, is punishable in most countries. “In most countries it follows the court prosecution (sic) and high-level penalties.”

However, the frightful user is offered a way out. He or she can evade the ‘high-level penalties’ by settling for 400 dollar. According to F-Secure, the payment system that lies behind is not functional and is probably only meant for collecting credit card data.

17 April 2010