Thousands of PCs in the UK could be infected with malware used to extort money from people warned Bitdefender.
The security company, found on millions of PCs around the world, said the malware scans the user’s IP address. It then sends a message saying purporting to come from the police accusing people of piracy. People are told they can pay a fine of as much as £125 to avoid prosecution.
These forms of attacks using malware such as Trojan Horses are being called ransomware by the security industry. Research has shown this form of attack is growing and could become a major problem next year.
Source: Computer Active