BitTorrent users targeted in new trojan extortion ploy
Step aside, rogue anti-virus software. There is a new scareware method in town. Security experts warned on Monday that attackers are targeting users of BitTorrent, a file-sharing application, in a novel scam that attempts to panic them into spending cash to avoid fines and imprisonment.
The extortion ploy works like this: A trojan is installed on victims' machines and it elicits pop-up messages in BitTorrent. It is unclear how the malware, dubbed Rogue:W32/DotTorrent.A by security firm F-Secure, is installed on affected systems.
The messages falsely inform users that a scanner has uncovered illegal torrents in their system and, if victims fail to pay nearly $400 as part of a "pre-trial settlement," they face stiff penalties, Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, said Monday in a blog post.
