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AN IT SUPPORT company has expressed concern about the misuse of the Garda Síochana logo in online fraud in Ireland.
Smarttech said today that, over the past year, it has become aware of a “surge” in the number of reports of computer-based scams involving the use of the garda logo in an attempt to extract money from people.
The type of cyber fraud being reported is known as ‘ransomware’ which originated in eastern Europe in 2005. The most prevalent example of this is where victim’s software is infected with the ‘ransomware’ and presented with the logo of An Garda Síochána. The message underneath the logo tells the user ‘Your computer has been locked!’ and claims that a fine needs to be paid to avoid legal action.
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These threats were highlighted by gardaí in 2012 but Smarttech has now called on them to create a social media campaign informing people of this scam.
“A social media campaign by the gardaí could go a long way in decreasing the number of attacks taking place,” Ronan Murphy, CEO of the company said. “When people are informed and aware they are much less likely to get taken in.”
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, gardaí said that there is “extensive advice” on their website on this issue and anyone who has been a victim of such crime should report it to their local garda station.
Murphy advised that anyone facing one of these ‘ransomware’ attacks should not pay the fine and have their PC repaired by a reputable repair person.
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i didnt think it possible that there are still soooooo many stupid people out there…..peoples…..u dont pay fines online or sign up to help someone claim 200 billion dollars cause your name is similar to that of a deceased 2000 miles away ….wake up….smell the coffee!!!!!!! they should have mental institutions for those dumb enuf to pay this crap….to be THAT stupid is a crime!
Jeez it must be great to be you Fiona. Unfortunately, there are many people who are not as au fait as you obviously are with a computer. These articles are generally aimed at those people in the hope that they won’t be caught out.
By the way, the people I think should be locked up are those who spell ‘you’ ‘u’ and enough ‘enuf’ to name a couple, and who neglect to use any form of grammar or punctuation.
On a related topic the Garda badge and other Garda marked items such as hats and mugs are freely on sale in various Dublin city center shops. This is easily incorporated into a wallet to produce a credible Yards id. Why is this permitted?
Garda badge can be used as a logo under license. Same as nypd. But wearing it here bit of a grey area its fine but if it resembles a uniform its an offence and can be taken.
As for ransomware best thing is to have a good firewall and anti virus. Nothing guards can do as the servers are located in russia and we know how helpful they are.
If you get infected with this here is wiick fix.
Turn off your pc by holding down power button for 5 seconds till it dies.
Restart and after bios screen which is very very first thing on screen press f8 and hold.
Menu pops up. Select safe mode with networking.
Start windows. Will look awful but open your Internet go to google search anti malware . download whatever you choose run it and it will root it out. After that restart.
The Garda name, logo and corporate identity is a registered trademark and subject to copyright. The logo can only be used with the permission of the Garda Commissioner.
Gardaí have seized such goods from several shops in the past. It is possible that some goods in tourist shops etc. are licensed as souvenirs. See related article here:
On the off chance anyone reading the article is infected with that bit of malware. The simple fix is start the pc tapping f8. Get into the repair my computer screen and do a system restore back to a date before you were infected
This is a good short term solution but if a computer has come into contact with this virus it is most likely due to be lack of Internet security and rolling it back will not remove it fully. Any time I’ve seen this virus it usually has different virus’s close by waiting to infect the machine again. To make sure the any virus is gone you need to ask a professional to take a look at it
While it makes sense to perform a system restore to remove virus it creates a false sense of security. To protect data such as images, documents and music try moving it from the default folder preferably on a partition other than the default system partition – and of course ensure that any virus software is updated t latest definition file.
Virus software can be dloaded free of charge (avg, panda as well as MS Security Essentials)
To remove this virus restart your computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, press F8 when booting and choose “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” from the options provided.
If using XP at the command prompt, type rstrui.exe, and then press Enter, or if you are using Windows Vista, 7 and 8, you can type: C:\windows\system32\rstrui.exe , and press Enter.
System Restore should start, and you will display also a list of restore points. Try using a restore point created just before the date and time the virus has infected your computer.
When System Restore has completed its task, start your computer in Windows regular mode, and perform a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
Was in the Garda station renewing my passport a while back and this old chap had brought his laptop into the station. The screen was frozen, even after rebooting . He was in the Garda station to pay in person, as ironically he didn’t trust online payments. So it does happen. I just butted in and recommended that he, reboot, hold down f12 and let the laptop boot as normal. Seemed to work
I got an email from some guy saying he was the favourite some of a very rich chief. His da was in a spot f bother with the government and needed to hide tonnes of money somewhere. Offered me 10% if I would put a couple of million in my bank account. Quinn I think he said, from Fermanagh or somewhere..
Needless to say I copped that it was a scam right away.. ;-)
“a victim of such crime should report it to their local Garda station” so the Garda at the desk can look at you as if you have two heads while informing you that the Garda don’t deal with this sorta thing
I’m guessing, if ya have done something wrong,a Garda will call to your door! Eg non payment of TV license, jay,-walking, sneezing! As apposed to playing second google in Anglo bank where you get diplomatic immunity!
@Bob, jaywalking and sneezing are not an offence and the Gardai are not tv licence inspectors, they just follow up on a court issued warrant if a court fine isn’t paid. And if you were just trying to be funny, it was a pretty poor effort
Not that Fiona is any better in writing “as Gaeilge”. Surely the “h” in Ní HAnrachtaigh should be lower case as it’s used to inflect the name, the first letter of which is A, ie, Ní hAnrachtaigh?
If it looks like a scam it is a scam. There is another one doing the rounds, you get a call from someone claiming to be a garda saying you left a petrol pump without paying and unless you pay now i.e. submit your card details they are coming around to make an arrest.
Hi, I’m some guy you’ve never heard of, from Latvia, or Nigeria. Send me a grand, and your bank account details, and ill lodge 10 mil into your account. Sigh!
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