Computer Ransomware Leads A Man To Kill Himself & Son

Ransomware is very dangerous, and this tragic incidence underscores that fact!

A Romanian man killed himself and his son because of a Ransomware which had infected his computer. The virus demanded £13,000 ($22,000) from the person, and as per the error messages, if the person was not able to provide this sum, then it threatened with jail. Unable to arrange the money and terribly afraid of the jail, the person committed suicide along with his son.

The incident happened at a small Romanian commune of Movila Miresii which is made up of three small villages and located in Br?ila County in the east of the country.

A local daily reported that Marcel Datcu, 36, hanged himself in the living room of his home along with his four-year-old son Nicusor as he took these Ransomware warnings seriously.

Investigators have revealed that Marcel must have visited some porn websites, which infected his computer with this Ransomware. Unable to cope with the humiliation of jail and considering that he belonged to a poor rural community, he considered suicide a better option.

The suicide note said, “I received a warning [on my computer] that said I have to pay 70.000 lei [£13,000] or go to prison for 11 years.”

[Above:A typical ransomware threat]

Further, he wrote “I don’t think it’s normal what I’ve done…I apologize to all of you…I don’t want Nicusor to suffer because of me…I can’t stand going to prison. I can’t.”

Last year, we had reported that Ransomware is slowly becoming a global threat to computer users all over the world, as its evil spread is infecting more and more ignorant users. Quickheal has reported that 500-600 new cases of Ransomware incidents are being reported on a daily basis, and this is soon going to take the form of a global epidemic.

Ransomware is a type of virus which locks the files of the computer and demands money to unlock them. Hackers use legal terms to scare the user, and something similar happened in this case which led to the unfortunate suicide.

Here is a typical case of Ransomware extorting money from computer users. (not the Ransomware which led to this incident, but an example..)

We believe that it is high time that Ransomware and other related virus be considered as serious crime and cases of fraud by the concerned judiciary. Police should actively hunt down those who spread such Ransomware and make sure that they are given lengthy prison terms. Additionally, computer users of all age groups should be provided adequate training and awareness regarding these viruses.

If Marcel would have been aware that such Ransomware and viruses can be removed by a simple reformat of the computer, he would have been alive today.

2 Lives lost due to Ransomware….sad!

RIP.

[Note: We generally do not cover such topics here on Trak.in. However, we feel very strongly about Ransomware and related threats and hence the coverage!]