Scammers scam because scamming makes money

Bankers need to be diligent in reminding customers to protect their computers. When surfing the web, they must do so with security in mind. Part of that security means knowing about their computers, and not falling for scams that try to manipulate them with fear.

One such scam uses a pop-up window that tells them their computer is infected with a virus. Coincidently this pop-up also has a link to a program that will solve the problem. Ultimately the scammer wants your customers credit card information. They think they are buying a useful, downloadable program. That isn't the scammers motivation though.

Recently Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center discovered an "affiliate network" that gets paid for these referrals such as via the pop-ups. They hack legitimate websites so that this pop-up will appear. The legitimate website is not aware at that time that they are being used.

The hacker is paid $.096 per referral, less than a dime. In their investigation though, Finjan found that in a 16 day period, 1.8 million referrals were made. The fees paid on 7,900 referrals would be $10,800 per day. Between 7 and 12 percent of the victims do install a useless or harmful program. They pay $50 for that. These fees can generate $172,000 in daily income. In addition, the consumers credit card is now compromised.

Criminals employ these scams because they work. Based on the above, they could make $2 million a year. The cost your customer pays can be much greater than $50 though, and you have a cost as well. Your bank will have to pay that customer back all or part of their loss.

We urge you to educate your customers so they don’t fall for these scams.