How to remove redirects to Letsswin scam websites

What are the Letsswin sites?

Letsswin is a group deceptive websites promoting various scams. One of these schemes has been observed promoting "Dear Safari User, You Are Today's Lucky Visitor", however, these web pages might promote other scams as well.

Few users enter these deceptive sites intentionally - most are redirected to them by intrusive ads or Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) already infiltrated into the system. PUAs can be installed onto devices without users' knowledge.

"Dear Safari User, You Are Today's Lucky Visitor" uses the 'fake prize giveaway' scam model. Schemes of this type claim that users can win (or have won) a reward. They are designed to steal various accounts (e.g. emails, social networking, social media, financial, etc.) and other sensitive information (e.g. names, addresses, credit card details, etc.).

Alternatively, they can ask users to make monetary transactions to receive the nonexistent prize (e.g. shipping, registration, subscription fees, etc.). Therefore, you are strongly advised against visiting or trusting Letsswin, or other similar web pages.

As well as force-opening deceptive/scam, untrusted/rogue, compromised and malicious websites, PUAs have other dangerous capabilities. These applications can deliver intrusive advertisements (e.g. pop-ups, banners, coupons, etc.). The ads limit browsing speed and overlay web page content.

Additionally, when clicked, intrusive ads redirect to harmful sites and stealthily download/install software (e.g. PUAs). Another type of PUA can modify browsers, restrict/deny access to their settings and promote fake search engines. Most unwanted apps can track data.

They can monitor browsing activity (browsing and search engine histories) and collect personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). This vulnerable data is often shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals), intent on misusing it for profit.

To summarize, PUAs can cause various infiltration and infections, lead to serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. To protect device and user safety, remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

Threat Summary:

Name	letsswin pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus.
Fake Claim	Some variants claim that users can win a prize.
Related Domains	letsswin1[.]live; letsswin9[.]live; letsswin7[.]live; letsswin6[.]live; letsswin18[.]live; letsswin17[.]live; letsswin16[.]live; letsswin14[.]live; letsswin12[.]live
Detection Names (letsswin1[.]live)	Kaspersky (Malware), Fortinet (Spam), Spamhaus (Spam), Full List (VirusTotal)
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.

The internet is full of deceptive/scam websites. Mostheatdr, Increaseofprofit, Primechse, and Winprizes are just some examples of web page groups similar to Letsswin. Online scams use social engineering and scare tactics to trick users into performing certain actions.

Popular models include (but are not limited to) prize giveaways, "unbelievable offers" and deals, alerts that a piece of important software is outdated/missing, and warnings that the system is infected or at risk.

These schemes attempt to encourage users into making monetary transactions, revealing private and sensitive information, calling fake and expensive technical support lines, downloading/installing and purchasing untrusted or malicious content, and so on. While the claims/requests of these scams differ, the goal is identical: to generate revenue for their designers.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs proliferate via download/installation set-ups. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing normal software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

While opting-out of these options is often possible, by rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.), many users can miss them and unintentionally allow bundled content onto the system. Some PUAs have "official" download pages.

Intrusive advertisements also spread these apps. Once clicked, they can execute scripts designed to download/install PUAs without users' permission.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

All products should be researched prior to download/installation or purchase. Use only official and verified download channels, as opposed to untrusted sources (e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders).

When downloading/installing, you are advised to read the terms, study all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate and harmless, however, they can redirect to highly dubious websites such as gambling, pornography, adult-dating and others.

If you encounter ads/redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all suspect applications and/or 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 a Letsswin website promoting the "Dear Safari User, You Are Today's Lucky Visitor" scam (GIF):

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 letsswin 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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