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back to article Russian ransomware SMS smut-scam raised $30k

A ransomware-based malware scam allowed Russian cybercrooks to fleece an estimated 2,500 surfers to the tune of almost $30k. Unwary smut-seekers visiting a porno site found their machines disabled by a Trojan. They were told to solve the problem by sending an SMS to a premium-rate number at a cost of $12 (360 roubles), and a …

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  1. copsewood
    Gates Horns

    International telecommunications treaties

    To find the criminal follow the money. But when a country is governed by its mafia the telecommunications authorities there become part of this kind of scam.

    Treaty obligations coerce telecom companies in countries where victims live into accessories to this kind of crime.

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  2. Tigra 07
    Thumb Up

    No tit required, not if it costs $12

    Effectively, these stupid people without antivirus just paid $12 for a wank...

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      $12

      Still cheaper than paying for the genuine websites,

      I'm guessing.

      I've never been to one so don't actually know.

      Honest.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmm

    It's cheaper than a windows update and does you just about as much good.

    In fact, slightly more - you get to watch pr0n.

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  4. ysth

    "avoiding the temptation to trawl the web's lower depths."

    "Surfers might have protected themselves by regularly backing up important data, using anti-virus defences or (perhaps best of all) avoiding the temptation to trawl the web's lower depths."

    The latter is nothing more than blaming the victim, and not appropriate.

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