Well-meaning web users could fall prey to scareware viruses that pop up when certain pictures of William and Kate are found on Google Image Search.
Scareware is generally any one of several types of scam software that is sold to people using fake, scare-inducing tactics. Like convincing the user his or her computer is loaded with viruses.
A tactic frequently used by criminals involves convincing users that a virus has infected their computer, then suggesting that they download (and pay for) their antivirus software to remove it.
Usually the virus is entirely fictional and the software is either non-functional or a virus itself. But freaked out Web users don't know that and are quick to "fix" the "viruses" on their computer.
They download the software, install it on their computer, and watch as it finds hundreds of scary sounding "viruses." If the user wants to get rid of the "viruses", they're taken to a page that asks for payment.
The user enters their credit card information and sends it straight to the scammers.
Plus, to add insult to injury, the malware now installed on the computer is nearly impossible to delete and could be a backdoor way for other scammers to access the user's private information.
According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the number of scareware packages in circulation rose from 2,850 to 9,287 in the second half of 2008.
And they're not going to away anytime soon. In the first half of 2009, the APWG identified a 585% increase in scareware programs.
Graham Cluley of Sophos Security provided and step-by-step account how the William and Kate scareware scam works on the company's website.
It all starts when one of the William and Kate pictures from the Google Search is clicked on. The picture is on a website that sneakily disappears, revealing the user's desktop.
It looks like the page was closed because it contains a virus and a pop-up appears to tell the user this.
If the user agrees to the "fast and free" "virus scan" offered by the pop-up, the whole sordid process begins.
Your best bet for avoiding these scareware scams? If the alert didn't come from the reputable virus scanner you have installed on your computer, don't trust it.
