In a recent report from McAfee, an Internet security company, there were fewer than 25,000 samples of ransomware catalogued per quarter in the first half of 2011. The number of people entrapped by this type of scam has been increasing exponentially.
The folks behind that scam were actually based in Russia, SC Magazine reported, not NSA headquarters. You are then offered a sort of Hobson's choice: Pay a fine immediately, or face prosecution for downloading child pornography. You try to navigate away, but a warning screen branded by the National Security Administration's Internet Surveillance Program pops up with the message: 'Your computer has been locked due to suspicion of illegal content downloading and distribution.' Suddenly your computer screen fills with illegal pornographic images of minors. You're innocently surfing the Web, maybe on an unfamiliar site, not paying close attention.
