{"id":56511,"date":"2017-02-27T10:56:09","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T16:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=56511"},"modified":"2017-02-27T10:56:09","modified_gmt":"2017-02-27T16:56:09","slug":"56511","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/56511\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake Adobe Update Leads to Support Scam With Ransomware Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Support Scam With Ransomware Ties<\/h4>\n<p>Another support scam has evolved, tying in the concept of ransomware to increase their payday.\u00a0 The malicious attack occurs after the user chooses to download a fake Adobe update, or clicks on a malicious ad.\u00a0 Upon doing so, the computer will begin executing a malicious &#8220;update&#8221;, which results in the following screen:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56512 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ransomware-support-scam.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"627\" height=\"346\" \/><em>Photo by Extreme Tech<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If\u00a0you call the phone number listed, a &#8220;support representative&#8221; will request the PC user execute an already installed version of TeamViewer.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that is as far as the user can go, until they pay the $250 for the unlock code.\u00a0 According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.extremetech.com\/computing\/244986-new-tech-support-scam-borrows-ransomware-tricks\">Extreme Tech<\/a>, it is possible to unlock the software yourself by clicking Ctrl+Shift+S.\u00a0 If this does not work, you can also try other default key options.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This is not the first scam that attempts to extort PC users for cash, similar to a ransomware attack.\u00a0 In May of 2016, we wrote about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/17\/latest-tech-support-scam-resembles-ransomware\/\">support scam <\/a>that executed after a fake Flash Player update was requested.\u00a0 In December of last year, we also reported on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/01\/microsoft-support-scam-ties-ransomware\/\">Vindows Locker<\/a>, the support scam that locked user files until a $349.99 payment was received.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">The Giveaway<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you ever receive a Windows update error or Microsoft alert with a &#8220;support&#8221; phone number, it is fake and likely malicious.\u00a0 Microsoft will never call you or provide a support number within these errors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Support Scam With Ransomware Ties Another support scam has evolved, tying in the concept of ransomware to increase their payday.\u00a0 The malicious attack occurs after the user chooses to download a fake Adobe update, or clicks on a malicious ad.\u00a0 Upon doing so, the computer will begin executing a malicious &#8220;update&#8221;, which results in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":55107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[5186,4790],"class_list":["post-56511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-adobe-update","tag-support-scam"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fake Adobe Update Leads to Support Scam With Ransomware Ties<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scammers are targeting Adobe users with a fake update that lead to a support scam with ransomware ties. 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