Saskatoon police are advising businesses and individuals about a new online scam in Saskatoon.
Police say they have received a number of complaints, mainly from businesses, about frozen or locked out computers.
A pop-up message then appears warning the computer has been associated with child pornography and illegal downloading and says a payment of $100 will “unlock” the computer.
The message also claims to come from police agencies or Canadian government agencies.
The Canadian Anti Fraud Centre says these types of messages are known as ‘ransomware’ and are designed to create shock and anxiety to ensure the victim pays the money quickly.
Saskatoon police say sending the money does not fix the computer and law enforcement and government agencies do not hijack computers to obtain money.
Police also say the presence of ransomware is a sign a computer has been infected by malicious software.
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