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Warning over anti-virus cold calls to UK internet users | Warning over anti-virus cold calls to UK internet users |
(40 minutes later) | |
Internet users are being warned about cold callers who offer to fix viruses but then install software to steal personal information. | Internet users are being warned about cold callers who offer to fix viruses but then install software to steal personal information. |
Campaign group Get Safe Online said a quarter of people it had questioned had received such calls, many suspected to have been from organised crime gangs. | Campaign group Get Safe Online said a quarter of people it had questioned had received such calls, many suspected to have been from organised crime gangs. |
Some gangs, employing up to 400 people, are known to set up their own call centres to target people en masse. | Some gangs, employing up to 400 people, are known to set up their own call centres to target people en masse. |
Internet users are also urged to be wary of pop-ups offering virus checks. | Internet users are also urged to be wary of pop-ups offering virus checks. |
Earlier this year, search engine giant Google warned it had discovered massive amounts of malicious fake anti-virus software. | Earlier this year, search engine giant Google warned it had discovered massive amounts of malicious fake anti-virus software. |
The UK warning on such software comes from Get Safe Online, which is backed by the government, police forces and major businesses with a stake in internet security. | |
It says it has charted a growth in two related scams designed to trick people into installing fake anti-virus software as a means of harvesting personal information such as credit card details. | It says it has charted a growth in two related scams designed to trick people into installing fake anti-virus software as a means of harvesting personal information such as credit card details. |
Some of the scams involve pop-up windows claiming that the computer has been infected. | Some of the scams involve pop-up windows claiming that the computer has been infected. |
These "scareware" approaches encourage users to click through to a site hosting malicious or useless software that acts as a front for gathering personal information. Most of the time, the software appears almost identical to professional anti-virus products. | These "scareware" approaches encourage users to click through to a site hosting malicious or useless software that acts as a front for gathering personal information. Most of the time, the software appears almost identical to professional anti-virus products. |
In other cases, gangs have set up call centres in eastern Europe or Asia and cold-call UK phone numbers attempting to find people to con. | |
In both cases, information gathered from the identity thefts can be used by gangs or sold on to other criminals through online market places. | In both cases, information gathered from the identity thefts can be used by gangs or sold on to other criminals through online market places. |
'Hefty returns' | 'Hefty returns' |
Investigators from the UK's Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) e-crime unit attempt to track scams back to the source gangs who have set them up. | |
Sharon Lemon, deputy director of Soca, said: "In recent cases, we have seen gangs employing 300 to 400 people to run their operations and using call centre-scale set ups to target victims en masse. | Sharon Lemon, deputy director of Soca, said: "In recent cases, we have seen gangs employing 300 to 400 people to run their operations and using call centre-scale set ups to target victims en masse. |
"They can also be paying out as much as $150,000 (£92,000) a month to individual webmasters who are unwittingly advertising their fake software - this level of investment from criminals indicates that the returns are much heftier than this." | "They can also be paying out as much as $150,000 (£92,000) a month to individual webmasters who are unwittingly advertising their fake software - this level of investment from criminals indicates that the returns are much heftier than this." |
Tony Neate, head of Get Safe Online, told the BBC that one operation in eastern Europe turned over £4.5m in a year. | |
He said: "This is big business, and it's preying on people's fears of the internet. The internet is a great place but when somebody phones you up and tells you you have a virus on your machine, you will start to panic." | |
Dr Emily Finch, a criminologist at the University of Surrey, said: "The general public is more internet security-aware than it was five years ago. Malicious anti-virus scams are an indication that criminals are now tapping into this. | Dr Emily Finch, a criminologist at the University of Surrey, said: "The general public is more internet security-aware than it was five years ago. Malicious anti-virus scams are an indication that criminals are now tapping into this. |
"Rather than exploiting our ignorance - the basic premise of common scams such as phishing - they are actively using our knowledge and fear of online threats to their advantage." | "Rather than exploiting our ignorance - the basic premise of common scams such as phishing - they are actively using our knowledge and fear of online threats to their advantage." |
Get Safe Online's annual report says its research suggests a third of UK internet users are still victims of viruses, despite steady improvements in security. More than a fifth said they had suffered identify fraud. | |
ICM interviewed 1,520 computer-using adults during October for the survey. | ICM interviewed 1,520 computer-using adults during October for the survey. |
Have you been a victim of an anti-virus cold call scam? Have you received this sort of call? Have you been tricked by "scareware"? Send us your experiences and comments using the form below. | Have you been a victim of an anti-virus cold call scam? Have you received this sort of call? Have you been tricked by "scareware"? Send us your experiences and comments using the form below. |