The FBI has just issued a warning about a particular type of malware attack originating from Russia and the Ukraine.  Through phishing or some other technique, the victim is lured into downloading malware at which point a pop up warning comes up which appears to be from the Department of Justice and indicates that the victim’s computer has been identified by the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section of the Deparment of Justice as having visited websites containing child pornography and other illegal content.  The malware also locks the victim’s computer.  The victim is informed that in order to have their computer unlocked they must pay a $100 fine through prepaid electronic payments such as MoneyPack or Paysafecard.  But the problem doesn’t end there.  This malware also contains a keystroke logging malware program that will steal all of the information from your computer.

TIP

Always beware of phishing scams luring you to phony websites and keep your security software up to date to help identify phishing websites.  If you find that you have been victimized by this particular scam, notify your bank, credit card companies and any other financial institution where you may have information regarding those accounts on your computer that your security has been breached.  Have a computer security service remove the malware from your computer.