Don’t fall prey to the scams that utilize pop-ups or flashing adverts warning you that your PC is infected.
Example System Tray Balloon Pop-up False Alerts
People that were scammed downloaded the rogue programs by choice after being tricked into believing it was legitimate. Web users fall prey to the scam when they click on links, pop-ups or flashing adverts warning them their computer was infected. The fake program then appears to run a virus check which tells the user their PC is infected and asks them to pay for it to be cleaned up.
But downloading the software can give criminals access to bank details and computer files. Symantec found 250 rogue programs were downloaded 43 million times in the 12 months to July 2009.
Analysts believe a small number of people run networks of more than 1,000 distributors whose earnings are linked to the number of machines they infect. The distributors, most of whom are in the United States, may not even realize they are acting illegally. The software may be developed in one country and then distributed in another so it is hard to track them down.
There are very few things the consumer can do. If you go to the site and try to get your money back, you will often find that it has been removed from the web or the contact information (if any) is not valid information. In so many cases with scams, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people that were infected. You can try and do a “search” by entering the website name and/or the software name. You may get lucky and find forum topics listed under your search that may contain valid contact information for you.
There are ways to spot a fake site. You should be protected from this type of malware if you keep your browser and anti-virus software up to date. If messages telling you that your PC has an infection pop up when you visit a website, simply close your browser down and use your existing anti-virus software to scan your PC. Also, if you think a warning message on your PC is suspect, carefully check spelling and grammar — there could be a tell-tale mistake.
When you think a warning message or any pop-up is suspicious, we recommend that you run a full system scan using SuperAntiSpyware. It’s free to use and is a great addition to any anti-virus program.
Additional Information: Pop-Up Windows May Lead to Trouble [Safest way to close a pop-up ad]
RAC Services: 
