Your uncle’s frozen Mac says it’s infected after viewing a Google ad. Now what?
Netskope found Google Ads delivering scareware that fake-freezes Windows and Mac browsers and pushes users toward bogus call centers.
Netskope reported Google Ads campaigns that showed a fake security warning and froze the browser on Windows and Mac, pressing people to call a bogus tech-support center. From August 31 to September 14, users at 619 Netskope customer organizations clicked the ads; Netskope said it blocked the content so none of those customers were scammed. Roughly 62 percent of the organizations were in the United States, with Japan and Australia next. Researchers tracked more than 250 campaign IDs across at least 284 legitimate publisher sites, and callers were urged to pay, grant remote access, or disclose personal information.
- Netskope saw users at 619 organizations click the ads from August 31 to September 14.
- About 62 percent of those organizations were in the United States, followed by Japan and Australia.
- More than 250 Google Ads campaigns appeared on at least 284 legitimate publisher sites.
- The browser locker hides the cursor and swallows exit keys without actually locking the computer.
- Callers were pushed to pay fees, allow remote access, or share personal information.
- Vendors
- Products
- Google Ads
- Organizations
- Netskope
- Countries
- United StatesJapanAustralia
From the original article
2 min read at arstechnica.com
Ads appearing all over the Internet are trying to scam people.
By Dan Goodin · arstechnica.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.