The Department of Homeland Security’s United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team is making the public aware of multiple malware campaigns that impersonate U.S. federal agencies, including the United States Cyber Command and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Once installed on a system, the malware displays a screen claiming that a federal government agency has identified the user’s computer as being associated with one or more crimes. The user is told to pay a fine to regain the use of the computer, usually through prepaid money card services.
US-CERT encourages victims to follow the recommendations in Security Tip ST05-006, “Recovering from Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses.” Users can also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
