New Bitcoin ransomware scam emerges, NFIB reminds users to back up their files

Golden Finance News - According to recent foreign media reports, the National Foreign Intelligence Board (NFIB) has reminded the public to pay attention to a new Bitcoin Ransomware scam.

NFB alerts the public to a new Bitcoin ransomware scam Image source: Golden Finance

The Bitcoin ransomware has been distributing malware by pretending to be emails originating from the U.K. Home Office, the Justice Department and domestic oil company British Gas, the NFIB said.

The TorrentLocker can attack and lock Bitcoin or other users' files until a certain amount of Bitcoin is paid as a ransom.

Reports from previous years have shown that most victims of Bitcoin ransomware usually refuse to pay the ransom, paying a maximum of 4 Bitcoins to decrypt their files.

The report also revealed that the Bitcoin fraud software has been circulated outside the UK. Moreover, the malware targets specific countries, including Austria, Italy, etc.

Furthermore, the report states that out of 39,760 infected systems, only 570 were able to obtain decryption software after paying the full ransom.

Further investigation also revealed that some people who paid in Bitcoins still did not get the decryption software to restore their files because the full ransom was not paid.

Bitcoin fraud software has spread outside the UK. Image source: Golden Finance

The TorrentLocker software and Hesperbot virus are believed to be created by the same person, and the Bitcoin ransomware has a limited reach compared to other Bitcoin ransomware such as CryptoLocker.

Other versions of the malware may also be encrypted in these emails, along with links to websites used to distribute the ransomware, according to the NFIB report. In some cases, users were asked to enter a verification code after getting fake bills or false warnings of legal action, leading to the hackers' trap.

While authorities are still cracking down on the source of this malware, the NFIB stressed the importance of creating offline backups of files when opening emails from unknown sources.