New Age Scam...What To Expect From Malware Moving Forward

Today's new scam is so interesting, you could argue that no one is actually being harmed.

In the "old days" you would go to Starbucks and live that laptop lifestyle.

Why Starbucks? Simple...coffee, scenery, free power, and free wifi.

What's not to like?

However, this free wifi comes at a cost (not talking about your coffee expense).

The cost of security. Yes if a hacker happens to be sitting at the same Starbucks you're at and connects to the "free wifi," your computer and all its associated files are easily accessible to someone with sufficient hacking skills.

But what are the chances there's a sophisticated hacker with malicious intent sitting right next to you? The odds are pretty low. I would say you're more likely to get robbed by a druggie in the parking lot then to be hit by a hacker at Starbucks. None the less, it's still possible.

The problem with these scams is the fact that you will eventually find out your bank account info was stolen, or your personal identity info was stolen, or you get shaken down to make a payment to remove the crazy computer pop ups.

You can file a report to the authorities and they can start to figure out where the scam is happening if the same thing happens to enough people who report it. One off scams are usually successful, but scammers are greedy and almost always return.

Today, scammers are playing a new game. A game that you'll never even know is happening. They aren't going for your bank account, they're not trying to steal your identity, or take any other personal information.

Nope...they want to use your computer processing power!! That's it! They want to hop on your computer when you're connected to the internet and use your computer to mine crypto currencies! This is fascinating to me. What harm is this causing me personally? I don't even know it's going on, and it's going on everywhere! Google, Youtube, Facebook, Starbucks, pretty much anywhere with internet connection is at risk of getting infected with this new crypto currency mining malware. You may see your computer running a bit harder then normal, but that's about it. The battery on your laptop may drain faster, your power bill might increase by a few bucks, but nothing much more than that.

What are these scammers coin of choice? Monero. Yes, they are mining the leading privacy coin. It makes complete sense due to the fact that with the new Crystal tech, bitcoin is no longer private. The new spy tool (mainly for government use) will be able to track down anyone who is using bitcoin and other less private crypto currencies. This means the scammers are dropping bitcoin and opting into Monero.

So yes, if you've been on youtube, surfed the web using Starbucks free wifi then it's likely you're computer (at least for a period of time) has been used to mine Monero for these new age scammers.

It's funny... I don't know anything about mining, but I would offer my 4 desktops, 2 laptops, iPad and cell phones up for mining if I could get a few coins out of the deal. :-)

I just thought this was interesting and wanted to share.

What are your thoughts about this new age scam? Does it upset you, or do you think its kinda funny?