Avoid being scammed by prizesfinder websites

What are "Prizesfinder" websites?

Prizesfinder is a group of deceptive websites, which promote various scams. They have been recorded promoting "Latest version of Adobe Flash Player" and "Dear Chrome User, Congratulations!" schemes. Trusting these scams can lead to serious issues.

Few users enter Prizesfinder and other, similar pages intentionally - most are redirected to them by intrusive ads or Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) already installed onto their devices. Note that these apps do not need express permission to infiltrate systems.

Deceptive websites have just one purpose: to generate revenue for the developers. The "Latest version of Adobe Flash Player" scam uses the 'outdated/missing piece of software' model. These schemes notify users that Flash Player is out of date and offer bogus updates.

Typically, fake updaters proliferate adware, browser hijackers and other PUAs. Furthermore, they can infect systems with malware (e.g. ransomware, trojans, etc.). The "Dear Chrome User, Congratulations!" scam uses the 'fake prize giveaway' model. These scams abuse users' trust in various ways.

Once attempts are made to receive the promised prizes, users are asked to make fraudulent transactions (e.g. shipping, registration fees and other bogus payments) and/or have their personal information stolen (e.g. names, surnames, addresses and/or email, social and banking accounts) and so on. In summary, online schemes can endanger device and user safety.

Unwanted applications force-open deceptive/scam, sale-oriented, untrusted, rogue, compromised and malicious websites, however, PUAs can also deliver intrusive ads (e.g. pop-ups, surveys, banners, coupons, etc.). When clicked, these advertisements redirect to harmful sites and can even execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install software.

PUAs can also hijack browsers by modifying them and restricting/denying access to settings. Most unwanted applications have data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing activity. Information of interest includes browsing and search engine histories, IP addresses, geolocations and personal details.

This vulnerable data is often shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for profit. Therefore, PUAs can lead to system infiltration/infections, serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft.

To ensure device integrity and user safety, you are strongly advised to eliminate all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	prizesfinder pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Fake Claim	Sites make various false claims. For example, that Flash Player is outdated or that users can win a 'prize'.
Related Domains	prizesfinder12[.]live; prizesfinder18[.]live; prizesfinder21[.]live; prizesfinder23[.]live; prizesfinder32[.]live; prizesfinder37[.]live; prizesfinder41[.]live
Detection Names (prizesfinder12[.]live)	Spamhaus (Spam), Full List (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (prizesfinder12[.]live)	185.89.102.158
Promoted Unwanted Application	Some variants promote fake software updaters.
Symptoms	Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

There are thousands of deceptive/scam web pages online. Hotrivsaln, Prizeseeker and Vnbue are just some examples of groups similar to Prizesfinder. Social engineering and scare tactics are used to further these scams.

Popular models include (but are not limited to) claims that a crucial piece of software is outdated or missing, alerts that the device is infected or at risk, fake prize giveaways, "amazing offers" and many others.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs can be downloaded/installed together with other products. "Bundling" is the term used to describe this deceptive marketing method of pre-packing normal software with unwanted or malicious additions.

Rushing download and installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.) endangers systems with potential infiltration and infections originating from bundled content. Some PUAs have "official" promotional pages from which they can be downloaded.

Intrusive ads also proliferate PUAs. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install unwanted apps without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

All products should be researched carefully before download/installation or purchase. Use official and verified download channels only. Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.), free file-hosting sites and other third party downloaders can offer deceptive or bundled content.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate and harmless, however, they can redirect to dubious web pages (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and others).

If you encounter these advertisements/redirects, check the system and remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of Prizesfinder site, promoting the "Dear Chrome User, Congratulations!" scam (GIF):

Appearance of a Prizesfinder site variant promoting the "Latest version of Adobe Flash Player" scam (GIF):

Appearance of another Prizesfinder site variant promoting the "Latest version of Adobe Flash Player" scam (GIF):

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is prizesfinder pop-up?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

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