Main » 2010 » April » 14 » Watch out BitTorrent users, you may be at risk of being financially scammed
7:21 PM
Watch out BitTorrent users, you may be at risk of being financially scammed
blogtechnical.com
There is a new scam on the net affecting BitTorrent users, in an
effort to try and extort cash from unsuspecting users. A hacking entity
has formed a fake organization called ICPP Foundation which claims to be
an online intellectual copyright organization partnering with real
copyright from such as the RIAA, MPAA, Copyright Alliance and a few
other well-known organizations. With all the hub-bub about illegal
downloading, they are capitalizing on the fear BitTorrent users endure
when they download illegal content.
The malware program comes attached to programs and plants itself into
the PC user’s administration Application Data folder (C:\Documents and
Settings\{USERNAME}\Application
Data\IQManager\iqmanager.exe). When the virus activates, it scans the
entire system specifically for .torrent files (legit or not) and then
launches a fake application. The app listed all the "illegal” torrents
and tells users why the files are illegal, with a full spread HTML
evidence list.
The program gives you the option of either suffering legal consequences
or pay a small fee close to $400 to waive the lawsuit (common sense
alone tells you that can’t be right). If users choose to ignore the
message, the system will display it every time the system reboots. Users
who are afraid and want to pay are directed to a payment screen which
asks for personal information such as your name, credit card info and
other sensitive details. The system does not carry out the $400 credit
card transaction, but still sends the data to the scammers, allowing
them to carry out fraudulent activities with the newfound info.
They even set up a website at http://www.icpp-online.com (currently down at the
moment). Various antivirus agencies have added the profile to their
database. F-Secure has dubbed it as Rogue:W32/DotTorrent.A. Users are
advised to update their antivirus program and run a scan to delete the
malware. They are also advised not to send any information via the
program.
