Scareware-as-a-Service Offered as a Package to Enterprising Criminals

Not so long ago we were introduced to various cybercrimes as a service models. There is Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) and now there is a new player in the “as a Service” game. It’s Scareware as a Service (not be confused with the legitimate product Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS). Researchers at Malwarebytes found this new type of criminal business being offered by a company in India.

The website for this bold company offers, in plain sight, that it will provide the enterprising tech support scam criminal with a complete infrastructure to start a business scamming people out of their money with these popular scams. They offer up the popups that will show errors stating the user should call tech support and even a feature that will put your monitor into an induced blue screen coma until you call their “tech support.”

And there’s more! There is even an add-on product that will load the ever-annoying PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products) on your computer, such as toolbars, adware, or spyware.

Technical support scams have been going on for years. They try to convince a user that something is wrong with his or her computer and that the “helper” on the phone will fix it for a fee. Often, they call without any warning hoping that you will indeed have a computer issue and be thankful that someone is willing to help. After all, everyone gets frustrated with computers from time to time and there is a good chance that eventually someone will take the fraudsters up on their offer. Unfortunately, many do and the victims are out their cash and left with no improvement to their poorly functioning computer.

There are some things you can do. Don’t call a number for tech support that shows up on your computer screen. Instead, look for support from your computer or software manufacturer’s website separately. If you receive a call out of the blue from someone offering to help, don’t provide them with any information, don’t give them your credit card number, and, don’t give anyone remote access to your computer who solicits you. In addition, be sure to install anti-malware software on all devices and keep it up-to-date.

If you believe you were the victim of this or any scam, file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There is a form on their website for this purpose. If you gave out your payment card details to scammers, contact the card issuer and ask them to remove the charges and issue you a new card. Review your statements to make sure additional unauthorized charges are not there. Also, change any passwords you gave out and scan your computer for malware.

 in 2015 it was estimated that Americans lost $1.5 billion to these types of scams. Indian authorities and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have recently been targeting those running these scams.