Buma Stemra Virus

Buma Stemra Virus Image

The Buma Stemra Virus has nothing to do with the legitimate Buma Stemra organization. Buma Stemra is an organization located in The Netherlands. This organization is mainly concerned with protecting the rights of Dutch musicians and composers. Buma Stemra has been involved in high-profile cases against file-sharing websites in order to prosecute those people violating copyright law in The Netherlands. On the other hand, if there is one factor that this organization does not do, is send threatening messages to computer users, blocking their computers unless they pay a fifty Euro fine for supposedly violating copyright law. According to ESG security analysts, that is exactly what the Buma Stemra Virus does. This Winlocker (a malware threat that basically locks the computer user out of their own computer by preventing access to the Windows desktop and Task Manager) consists of a message that supposedly comes from the Dutch Police and the Buma Stemra organization. This in this message, the Buma Stemra Virus threatens computer users, attempts to extort a fifty Euro fine and block their computer until this fine is paid.

Do Not Fall for the Buma Stemra Virus Scam

The Buma Stemra Virus basically displays a message that is entirely in Dutch and that may be confusing to computer users from other countries. This message is highly authentic-looking and contains the logos for various organizations on the right side. In the body of the message, Buma Stemra Virus claims that the victim's computer has been involved in copyright law violation and that the contents of that computer have been blocked by the Dutch police and the Buma Stemra organization. Since even watching certain videos on YouTube can technically comprise a copyright violation, many inexperienced computer users may feel guilty enough to fall for the Buma Stemra Virus scam.

However, it is important to understand that legitimate law enforcement organizations will never use these kinds of messages or tactics, so you will not have another choice but to pay a fine. The Buma Stemra Virus is simply one of countless variations on the Metropolitan Police scam. These are a series of messages claiming to come from various official law enforcement agencies in the European Union. Targeting computer users from a particular country, these messages accuse computer users of everything, from dealing in child pornography to being involved in money laundering schemes. All those messages use the same kind of intimidation; like the Buma Stemra Virus, they threaten the victim with jail time, loss of data and the loss of their computer system unless the victim pays a fine (usually anywhere from fifty to one-hundred Euros) which is usually charged via a money transfer service like Ukash or through prepaid cards. Do not fall for this scam! Removing the Buma Stemra Virus is as easy as starting up in Safe Mode and running a full scan with an anti-virus utility.