FTC Shuts Down More Bogus Spyware Scan Companies

from the here-we-go-again dept

Wed, Dec 10th 2008 8:22pm — Mike Masnick

A few years back the FTC shut down some scam fake anti-spyware companies that would advertise "free scans" of your computer and would then (of course) tell you you had spyware. The scam, of course, was that for a fee of only $30 or $40, you could buy their "software" that would supposedly rid your computer of spyware. Of course, your computer probably didn't already have spyware, and the software you bought certainly wouldn't do anything towards ridding your computer of any actual spyware. It looks like some new scammers have picked up where the old ones left off, because the FTC is announcing, yet again, that it's been able to shut down some bogus anti-spyware operations. Apparently, this operation was slightly more scammy, because advertising networks have stopped accepting ads for such bogus anti-spyware. So, instead, they pretended to place ads for legitimate companies, but then used some code to swap out the "good" ad with the bogus anti-spyware ad.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: ftc, scams, scans, spyware

11 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 10 Dec 2008 @ 10:48pm

I actually got one of those pop-ups a few days ago (maybe a week), i had to pause for a second to realize whats was up, cause contrary to the old adds that showed in a browser window that one looked like a system/windows message (you know those Grey boxes that cant be minimized) then again was using IE6 instead of my trusty FF3 at the time.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
dragunkat, 10 Dec 2008 @ 10:58pm

Just a word of caution, some of the sites those ads point to contain some sort of spyware/malware, the best course of action is to use alt ctrl del and shut down the browser.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ron, 10 Dec 2008 @ 11:37pm

I laugh when I see a "scan" done on my Ubuntu Linux box. :)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Crazy Coyote, 11 Dec 2008 @ 2:34am

You can earn a lot from a dummy
Even more from a lot of dummies. It's good supplemental income for a retired tech.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
zcat, 11 Dec 2008 @ 2:50am

bloody nusance
those ".* antivirus 2009" websites are a bloody nuisance even in ubuntu, they exploit flash and whatever else to make sure that every time you close a window another one opens. I've had to teach my wife to use 'xkill' to escape, she's managed to hit the damn things twice already just searching for knitting patterns. I don't really want to use flashblock though, since so many other websites she goes to depend on it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2008 @ 4:16am

Wow, I can't ever remember getting a popup in ubuntu. Do you guys run a ad-blocker? You don't have to block all the flash scripts that way.

Anyway, those ads are right, if you run windows unprotected, you probably have some spyware.

I always wonder if the reminder of these things ever makes windows users more concerned about security. Or do they just part with the $40 and figure they are safe.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Rich Kulawiec, 11 Dec 2008 @ 5:14am

Premature conclusion
If, and that's a pretty big "if", these companies are actually shut down, then the principals will shift locations, incorporate under a new name, and resume business-as-usual shortly. This action makes good press for the FTC, but it's a complete yawner in terms of actually achieving anything useful in the long term.
It's the same with their meaningless, token actions against junk faxes and spyware/adware companies and spammers. None of it has had the slightest effect on the problem -- the only purpose for it is to generate positive PR for the bumbling, incompetent, lazy fools at the FTC.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jasen Webster (profile), 11 Dec 2008 @ 5:34am

Glad to see the FTC is stepping in and taking action. As a computer tech, removing these rogue programs can be cumbersome as they often open doors for other forms of malware to infect the system.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2008 @ 7:12pm

You rule, Jasen.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2008 @ 7:17pm

Are you related to Jason, from the Friday the 13TH movies?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
John L., 16 Mar 2010 @ 9:26am

I wonder how far these scams go...You stated that the software does not actually remove any spyware (of which there may not even be any), so clearly that is fraud. I am just wondering if the money they make off these fake sales is the end of it, or do they also steal the credit card information and wreak havoc with that? Regardless, I would advise everyone out there to install some quality antivirus software, and disregard ALL messages related to the safety of your computer that do not originate either from Windows (these can be hard to differentiate for beginners) or your antivirus of choice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]