Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus (Ransomware)

The Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus is one of the many variants of a dangerous ransomware Trojan commonly known as the 'Ukash Virus'. The Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus receives this nickname because the many variants of this malware attack demand the payment of a ransom using Ukash, a legitimate money transfer service that is not associated directly with the criminals responsible for these ransomware attacks. Like similar attacks, the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus pretends to be part of a law enforcement operation by a police agency in the infected computer's geographical location (in this case, by the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit). Although this is a real police agency, the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus message is not associated with them in any way but is, in fact, part of a scam used to try to steal your money.

Most ransomware Trojans carry out similar attacks and, at their core, they are designed to hold your computer hostage under a false pretense and demand the payment of a hefty ransom to return control over the infected computer. To take control of your computer, the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus blocks access to the infected computer's Desktop and to many Windows components that would normally be useful in treating or bypassing this kind of malware attack (such as the Registry Editor or Task Manager). As soon as the victim logs into Windows, the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus displays a full screen message that demands the payment of a one hundred Euro ransom. It claims that this amount is a fine necessary to avoid prosecution for legal violations such as intellectual property infringement and viewing pornographic material. The Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus claims that access to the victim's computer was blocked by the police force until this fine is paid using Ukash or other money transfer services listed in the right hand column of this ransomware message.

There are dozens of variants of the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus, each targeting a different geographical location. The Trojan responsible for installing these malware threats determines the geographical location of the infected computer and then installs a variant of the Northern Constabulary E-Crime Unit Virus corresponding to the infected computer's country. Each variant uses the target country's language, police force agency, and official shields, emblems and flag.