UK cops have arrested three people in Staffordshire on suspicion of running a ransomware scam that fooled victims into paying £100 fines.
A 34-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman from Stoke-on-Trent were cuffed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of items for use in fraud. A 26-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. All three were taken in for questioning at a Staffordshire police station.
Ransomware malware usually works by preventing an infected computer from starting up or encrypts the PC's documents. Punters have to pay a non-trivial amount to the fraudster who planted the malware to regain control of their machine and files.
In this case, it's alleged the ransomware was used to halt the computer and display a bogus warning from the Metropolitan Police Service accusing the user of committing offences online. The "splash" screen for the software would claim the plod had monitored the victim's activities on the internet. The mark would then have to pay a penalty of £100 to unlock the machine.
Read more: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/14/ransomware_suspects_cuffed/
