Recently, a Windows 10 ransomware scam has been discovered in the form of phishing emails impersonating Microsoft. With new product releases come a slew of scams, vulnerabilities and anything else cybercriminals can use to capitalize on the buzz. Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, upgrades are slowly rolling out to users in phases, which means some users are looking for ways to skip the virtual line to get their copies sooner rather than later, and scammers have taken notice.
With this latest email scam, instead of getting to download the highly anticipated new Microsoft operating system, users get malware that will encrypt files and hold those files for ransom. This particular scam only gives users 96 hours to pay until the users files are lost forever.
Luckily, the email is fairly easy to spot based on the strangely formatted characters in the message. However, if it does slip by you and you have Norton, you are protected against this threat.
No one likes to wait for shiny new things, and this is an aspect of social engineering criminals are looking to capitalize on. Whatever you do, do NOT pay the ransom, as there’s no guarantee you’ll actually get your files back.
Just remember, all good things come to those who wait- the first day the new OS was released, it was downloaded by 14 million people. So chances are, you won’t have to wait for your copy too long.