Remove apps promoting the Your device is infected with a spam virus scam

What is Your device is infected with a spam virus scam?

Many deceptive websites on the Internet are designed to display fake virus notifications claiming that a computer or another device is infected and encouraging to solve the problem (remove threats) with the offered application. This particular page is designed to trick visitors into allowing it to show notifications that are likely to be used to promote potentially unwanted applications (PUAs), or even malicious apps.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the only website using a deceptive technique to trick visitors into agreeing to receive notifications from it. Typically, websites like this one are promoted through PUAs, deceptive ads, or other pages of this kind - it is unlikely for them to be visited on purpose.

This website shows fake notifications claiming that a device is infected with a spam virus designed to display unwanted advertisements. It encourages to remove that spam virus immediately and subscribe anti-spam protection by clicking its "ALLOW AND PROCEED" button and then agreeing to receive notifications by clicking the "Allow" button in a pop-up window displayed by a browser.

The main purpose of this page is to trick visitors into allowing it to show notifications. It is very likely that this page is designed to show notifications containing links to other scam websites like "Chance To Win The New iPad Pro", "Important Defender Update Available", "Norton Antivirus 2021 Update", download pages for browser hijackers, adware or even malicious applications, or other untrustworthy websites.

For these reasons, it is strongly recommended to avoid allowing deceptive pages to show their notifications. As mentioned in the first paragraph, it is uncommon for pages designed to display fake virus alerts to be visited on purpose.

Quite often, scam websites and other dubious sites are promoted through PUAs - applications that users download and install unknowingly. It is important to mention that apps of this kind can be monetized by designing them to generate coupons, pop-ups, surveys, banners, or other ads.

More often than not, those ads are used to advertise shady, potentially malicious pages. In some cases, they can execute scripts designed to download or install unwanted software.

Also, PUAs can be used as tools to collect IP addresses, entered search queries, geolocations, addresses of visited websites, and other browsing-related details. In some cases, PUAs are capable of accessing sensitive data. It is important to know that collected data gathered by PUAs could be sold to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) or misused to generate revenue in other ways.

Threat Summary:

Name	Your device is infected with a spam virus pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Device is infected with a virus designed to generate unwanted advertisements
Disguise	Virus notification from Google
Related Domain	high-benefits[.]com
Serving IP Address	172.67.207.112
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

There are many scam websites designed to trick visitors into believing that their devices are infected, or there is another problem with them and downloading and then installing some application. Some examples of similar pages are "Code 0x03A10 (0E10)", "Microsoft Security Essentials Alert", "Suspicious Movement Distinguished On You".

It is strongly recommended to ignore these websites and make sure that there are no PUAs installed on browsers or computers that may be responsible for opening them. It is noteworthy that most PUAs are useless and can be harmful.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

A popular way to distribute potentially unwanted apps is to use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". In such cases, developers include unwanted apps in downloaders, installers for other programs as extra offers.

Usually, offers to download or install potentially unwanted apps can be declined via the "Advanced", "Custom" or other settings, or by unticking certain checkboxes before finishing downloads, installations.

When users download or install programs without changing any settings, they allow for included PUAs to be downloaded or installed together with those programs. In some cases users unknowingly cause unexpected downloads or installations by clicking deceptive ads that are designed to execute certain scripts.

Typically, apps that are capable of causing downloads, installations appear on untrustworthy web pages.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Apps and files downloaded from unofficial pages, via third-party downloaders, Peer-to-Peer networks like torrent clients, eMule, various free file hosting pages, and so on can be malicious. Programs installed via third-party installers can be malicious too. Therefore, it is recommended to use only official websites and direct links as sources for downloading files or apps.

Downloaders and installers with "Manual", "Custom", "Advanced" or other settings/options often contain offers to download or install potentially unwanted applications. For this reason, those settings should be checked and changed (if necessary) before finishing downloads and installations.

Also, it is recommended to avoid clicking ads that dubious pages have on them. Those advertisements are often designed to open other shady sites or execute scripts, and download or install unwanted software.

Unwanted, suspicious apps (e.g., extensions, add-ons, plug-ins) already installed on a browser or the operating system should be uninstalled. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of Your device is infected with a spam virus scam (GIF):

Text in the pop-up window:

Warning! Your device is infected with a spam virus that causes aggressive ads. Remove it immediately to avoid damaging your phone!
[OK]

Text in the background:

Your Chrome is infected with (3) adware viruses!
These viruses cause major spam and reduce battery life. We recommend subscribing for anti-spam protection.
Protect your phone now to:

Eliminate all spam advertising instantly

Improve battery life: 65%

Please follow these 2 simple steps:

Step 1: Press the button below, then subscribe to 24/7 Spam Protection on the next page.

Step 2: Run the powerful Google-approved application to instantly clear your phone from spam ads.

[ALLOW AND PROCEED]

Instant automatic 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 malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner 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. 7 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 Your device is infected with a spam virus 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 Windows.

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 Windows) - 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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