Malware Campaigns Impersonating U.S. Government Agencies

US-CERT is aware of multiple malware campaigns impersonating multiple U.S. government agencies, including the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Once installed on a system, the malware displays a screen claiming that a Federal Government agency has identified the user’s computer as being associated with one or more crimes. The user is told to pay a fine to regain the use of the computer, usually through prepaid money card services.

Affected users should not follow the payment instructions. US-CERT encourages users to follow the recommendations in Security Tip ST05-006, Recovering from Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses. Users may also choose to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).