Apr
15
Security firm F-Secure has issued a warning to PC users following the release of a nasty Trojan claiming to be an "Antipiracy foundation scanner".
This timely, relevant scam has emerged at a time when fears of anti-piracy punishment is at an all time high following the passing of the Digital Economy bill last week.
The Trojan has been set up to steal credit card details from web users, masking as a scanner which has found illegal torrents on the user's system. Every time the user reboots their computer this Trojan encourages users to pay up $400 (£259) to the ICPP Foundation as part of a "pre-trial settlement". This pop-up warns users they could end up facing a jail sentence if they fail to settle.
Despite setting up an authentic-looking website (www.icpp-online.com) F-Secure has confirmed there is no ICPP Foundation and that it is very likely the Trojan will pop-up even if there are no illegal torrents on the system. There also appears to be no credit-card payment system connected to the site so the scammers simply collect any entered credit card information.
Urging PC users to be vigilant and to check systems with an antivirus programme to detect and remove Trojans, F-Secure's chief research officer, Mikko H Hypponen, explained: "The gang behind this attack already has large botnets at their disposal. We assume they simply upload this malicious application to the bots they already control." He added: "People know that movie studios and record labels are playing hardball against pirates. This might actually make some users fall for this scam."
This timely, relevant scam has emerged at a time when fears of anti-piracy punishment is at an all time high following the passing of the Digital Economy bill last week.
The Trojan has been set up to steal credit card details from web users, masking as a scanner which has found illegal torrents on the user's system. Every time the user reboots their computer this Trojan encourages users to pay up $400 (£259) to the ICPP Foundation as part of a "pre-trial settlement". This pop-up warns users they could end up facing a jail sentence if they fail to settle.
Despite setting up an authentic-looking website (www.icpp-online.com) F-Secure has confirmed there is no ICPP Foundation and that it is very likely the Trojan will pop-up even if there are no illegal torrents on the system. There also appears to be no credit-card payment system connected to the site so the scammers simply collect any entered credit card information.
Urging PC users to be vigilant and to check systems with an antivirus programme to detect and remove Trojans, F-Secure's chief research officer, Mikko H Hypponen, explained: "The gang behind this attack already has large botnets at their disposal. We assume they simply upload this malicious application to the bots they already control." He added: "People know that movie studios and record labels are playing hardball against pirates. This might actually make some users fall for this scam."
