‘Your computer has been blocked‘ by the Ministry of Law and Justice due to ‘viewing and dissemination of materials forbidden by law of India.’ this is the message porn lovers in India may have seen recently.
Lately, a growing number of countries around the world have been working on laws to restrict access to pornography on the Internet. The range of restrictions varies greatly. From laws that only require keeping relevant documents, to complete blockade of some pornographic sites in a given country. As much as the purpose cited by politicians is absolutely right, these changes also open the door for the return of old Internet scams.
Several years ago, before the Web 2.0 era, there was a widespread opinion that pornography sites should not be visited because they were infested with viruses. Fortunately nowadays, when earning money via the Internet is as normal as a standard office job, the owners of websites offering erotic content are well aware that infecting their users’ devices with all sorts of malware is much more harmful to their business than profitable.
However, as reported by internet security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia on Twitter, some people browsing porn sites in India have come across a fake pop-up stating that their ‘computer has been blocked’. In India, porn is banned and this is what online crooks are trying to exploit.
The scammers try to impersonate India’s Ministry of Law and Justice and state that the computer has been blocked under Decree No. 173-27 due to ‘viewing and dissemination of materials forbidden by law of India’. Of course, as you might expect, it goes on to say that in exchange for the appropriate fee, the computer will be unlocked. The scammers demand 29,000 Indian Rupees, which translates to about 345 Euro, and inform that if the fine is not paid within 6 hours, the case will be referred further for criminal prosecution.
Of course, it is one big scam that actually does not even block the computer. All you have to do is restart the browser and everything is back to normal. While porn is banned in India, the government does not track the computers of people who have found workarounds and accessed banned websites.
This scam probably concerns only users who search for pornography on Indian websites. However the very fact and genesis of its occurrence indicates that the continuous stigmatization of pornography and increasing restrictions imposed by the goverments, cause the return of old tricks that prey on the lack of technical skills of users and their shame associated with the love of pornography.
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