All those people who thought it was the FBI who had locked their screens and demanded the payment of fines were proved wrong and were shortly found looking for ransomware removal methods. This ransomware, known as Reveton, had claimed the responsibility for all the machines that had been affected; but there is a catch. Some FBI partners were involved in this whole scheme!
Raymond Uadiale hadn’t created or spread the malware but had actually helped out the original distributor cash out and launder the money obtained through ransom. For his involvement in the crime, Raymond had been found guilty and is currently in prison for his 18-month sentence.
Users who were looking for ransomware removal methods had come up with the problem as they found their screen locked – but the splash screen they faced was what troubled them. The splash screen claimed that the user had violated some federal laws because they had visited or downloaded from some illicit and illegal files. The splash screen then went on to display the FBI logo alongside making threats of legal action if the ‘fee’ wasn’t paid in time.
Ransomware removal vendors had shortly also found that the Reveton malware had been placed on a variety of pornographic website and this made the victims believe the splash screen was legitimately from the FBI. What’s more? The perpetrator also said that victims had even instantly gotten affected by the malware by simply being on these websites and didn’t need to click on any ads. Yes, this is completely possible and is known as a ‘drive-by infection.’
These ‘drive-by infections’ are very difficult to avoid and oftentimes victims are too afraid to make the necessary investigations. They simply end up paying $200 to $400 as ‘fines’. Beware, folks!
