Removal guide Ransomware

Remove FBI virus (MoneyPak Scam)

By Stelian6 min read

The FBI MoneyPak Ransom is a computer virus, which will display a bogus notification, that pretends to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and states that your computer has been blocked due to it being involved with the distribution of pornographic material, SPAM and copyrighted content.
The FBI virus will lock you out of your computer and applications, so whenever you’ll try to log on into your Windows operating system or Safe Mode with Networking, it will display instead a lock screen asking you to pay a non-existing fine of  100 $ in the form of a Green Dot MoneyPak code.
Furthermore, to make its alert seem more authentic, this virus also has the ability to access your installed webcam ,so that the bogus FBI notification shows what is happening in the room.
If your computer is infected with FBI virus,then you are seeing any of the below notifications:

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The FBI lock screen is a scam, and you should ignore any alert that this malicious software might generate and remove this trojan from your computer.
Under no circumstance should you send any money to this cyber criminals,as this could lead to identity theft,and if you have, you should contact your credit card company and dispute the charge stating that the program is a scam and a computer virus.

FBI Green Dot MoneyPak – Virus Removal Guide

STEP 1: Remove FBI lock screen from your computer

FBI MoneyPak Ransom has modified your Windows registry and added its malicious files to run at start-up, so whenever you’re trying to boot your computer it will launch instead its bogus notification.To remove these malicious changes,we can use any of the below methods :

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Method 1: Start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking and scan for malware

Some variants of FBI virus will allow the users to start the infected computer in Safe Mode with Networking without displaying the bogus lock screen. In this first method, we will try to start the computer in Safe Mode with Networking and then scan for malware to remove the malicious files.

  1. Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your computer.
  2. Press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts.Please keep in mind that you need to press the F8 key before the Windows start-up logo appears.
    Note: With some computers, if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the “F8 key”, tap the “F8 key” continuously until you get the Advanced Boot Options screen.
  3. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode with Networking , and then press ENTER.
    [Image: Safe Mode with Networking]
  4. If your computer has started in Safe Mode with Networking, you’ll need to perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

IF the FBI virus didn’t allow you to start the computer in Safe Mode with Networking,you’ll need to follow Method 2  to get rid of its lock screen.


Method 2: Restore Windows to a previous state using System Restore

System Restore can return your computer system files and programs to a time when everything was working fine, so we will try to use this Windows feature to get rid of FBI lock screen.

  1. Restart your computer, and then press and hold F8 during the initial startup to start your computer in safe mode with a Command prompt.
    Note: With some computers, if you press and hold a key as the computer is booting you will get a stuck key message. If this occurs, instead of pressing and holding the “F8 key”, tap the “F8 key” continuously until you get the Advanced Boot Options screen.
  2. Use the arrow keys to select the Safe mode with a Command prompt option.
    Enter Safe Mode with Command Prompt
  3. At the command prompt, type cd restore, and then press ENTER.
    Next,we will type rstrui.exe , and then press ENTER
    System Restore commands
  4. The System Restore window will start and you’ll need to select a restore point previous to this infection.
    Restore points in Windows 7
  5. After System Restore has completed its task,you should be able to boot in Windows normal mode,from there you’ll need to perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

IF the FBI virus didn’t allow you to start the computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt you’ll need to follow Method 3, to get rid of its screen lock.


Method 3: Remove FBI virus with HitmanPro Kickstart

IF you couldn’t boot into Safe Mode with Command Prompt or didn’t have a System Restore point on your machine, we can use HitmanPro Kickstart to bypass this infection and access your computer to scan it for malware.

  1. We will need to create a HitmanPro Kickstart USB flash drive,so while you are using a “clean” (non-infected) computer, download HitmanPro from the below link.
    Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
  2. Insert your USB flash drive into your computer and follow the instructions from the below video:
  3. After you have create the HitmanPro Kickstart USB flash drive, you can insert this USB drive into the infected machine and start your computer.
  4. Once the computer starts, repeatedly tap the F11 key (on some machines its F10 or F2),which should bring up the Boot Menu, from there you can select to boot from your USB.
    Next,you’ll need to perform a system scan with HitmanPro as see in the below video:
  5. After HitmanPro Kickstart has completed its task,you should be able to boot in Windows normal mode,from there you’ll need to perform a system scan (as seen on STEP 2) with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro to remove the malicious files from your machine.

STEP 2: Remove FBI malicious files from your computer

No matter what method you used to get rid of FBI lock screen, we will need to remove its malicious files from your computer.
Please download and run a scan with the following scan to completely remove FBI virus from your computer.

Run a computer scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

  1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link,then double click on it to install this program.
    Download MalwarebytesFree official installer. Your download starts right away.
  2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
    DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked,then click on the Finish button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware installation
  3. On the Scanner tab,select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware quick scan
  4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for FBI malicious files as shown below.
    Malwarebytes scanning for
  5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
    Malwarebytes scan results
  6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
    Infections found by Malwarebytes
  7. After your computer will restart, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a Full System scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

Run a computer scan with HitmanPro

  1. Download HitmanPro from the below link,then double click on it to start this program.
    Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
    IF you are experiencing problems while trying to start HitmanPro, you can use the Force Breach mode.To start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode, hold down the left CTRL-key when you start HitmanPro and all non-essential processes are terminated, including the malware process. (How to start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode – Video)
  2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
    HitmanPro scanner
    HitmanPro installation
  3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for FBI malicious files as seen in the image below.
    HitmanPro scans after
  4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
    HitmanPro scan results
  5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    HitmanPro 30 days activation button
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If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove FBI virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.

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Join the discussion

31 comments

Share your experience or ask a question about this article.

Discussion

  1. John

    Run malware bytes and hitman . Detected and removed moneypak virus but then when I restart in regular mode. Virus comes back. Have used malware bytes to clear twice but still comes back if I don’t start in safe mode. Can you help?

    ReplyReport
    1. Stelian PiliciTeam

      In reply to John

      Hello John,
      Please run the following scan and add the log in your next reply.
      STEP 1 : Run a scan with Combofix
      Download ComboFix from here: COMBOFIX DOWNLOAD LINK #1 (This link will automatically download Combofix on your computer)

      VERY IMPORTANT !!! Save as Combo-Fix.exe during the download.ComboFix must be renamed before you download to your Desktop

      • Close any open browsers.
      • Very Important!Temporarily disable your anti-virus, script blocking and any anti-malware real-time protection beforeperforming a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause “unpredictable results”.
      • WARNING: Combofix will disconnect your machine from the Internet as soon as it starts
      • Please do not attempt to re-connect your machine back to the Internet until Combofix has completely finished.
      • If there is no internet connection after running Combofix, then restart your computer to restore back your connection.
      1. Double click on ComboFix.exe & follow the prompts.
      2. Accept the disclaimer and allow to update if it asks
      3. When finished, it shall produce a log for you.

      Notes:

      1. Do not mouse-click Combofix’s window while it is running. That may cause it to stall.
      2. Do not “re-run” Combofix. If you have a problem, reply back for further instructions.
      3. If after the reboot you get errors about programms being marked for deletion then reboot, that will cure it.

      Please add the combofix log in your next reply!

      ReplyReport
      1. Shad

        In reply to Stelian Pilici

        hey my friend tried this and it seems to work along with all the other instructions given here. I do have a question though. She says that now she can’t get her windows defender firewall back up and she is unable to remove certain programs. How can she fix this?

        Report
          1. Shad

            In reply to Stelian Pilici

            ok She did all of that and then when she got to the ESET scan this one trojan kept multiplying and she can’t get rid of it. the name of it is: js/agent.nid trojan . How can she get rid of it permenantly?

            Report

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Written by

Stelian

Stelian leverages over a decade of cybersecurity expertise to lead malware analysis and removal, uncover scams, and educate people. His experience provides insightful analysis and valuable perspective.

61,013 articlesWriting since 2011
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