Remove apps promoting "$1000 Bank of America Gift Card" and similar scams

What is $1000 Bank of America Gift Card scam?

This scam website attempts to trick visitors into providing personal information in return for prizes (such as Walmart, Bank of America and Visa Gift cards, and an iPhone 11). Websites of this kind should never be trusted.

Commonly, users do not visit them intentionally - in most cases, they are opened through deceptive advertisements, other untrusted pages, or by installed potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

At the time of research, this scam website suggested that it is possible to win a $1000 Walmart Gift Card, $1000 Visa Gift Card, $1000 Bank of America Gift Card, $1000 Amazon Gift Card or an iPhone 11. It might also mention other prizes. This page attempts to trick unsuspecting visitors into providing various information.

Commonly, such pages ask to provide details such as name, surname, email address, telephone number, etc. They often ask to provide other information such as credit card details or to pay some processing fees, transfer charges. Depending on the information obtained, scammers behind these pages misuse the details for malicious purposes.

For example, to make fraudulent purchases and transactions, and to steal identities. They could also sell the information to other cyber criminals. Therefore, never provide any details on such web pages.

PUAs that promote these bogus web pages often serve advertisements and collect user-system information as well. They display coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups, and other types of ads. They can open various untrusted pages or cause download/installation of potentially malicious apps.

PUAs can also gather details such as users' IP addresses, geolocations, addresses of visited pages, entered search queries, etc. In some cases, they are capable of accessing sensitive information. There is a possibility that the developers will misuse collected data to generate revenue by selling it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) or in other ways.

Threat Summary:

Name	00 Bank of America Gift Card pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud.
Fake Claim	Visitors can win a prize by providing certain information.
Related Domain	winprize.wzcz[.]xyz
Detection Names (winprize.wzcz[.]xyz)	Google Safebrowsing (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
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.

Some more examples of similar scam websites are "Amazon Loyalty Program", "$1000 Venmo Gift Card" and "You've Made The 9.68-Billionth Search". Most have are used to extract personal information that can be misused to generate revenue. Visitors do not often open these scam sites intentionally.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs are often downloaded/installed together with other products. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

By rushing through download/installation (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, using "Quick/Express" settings, etc.), many users risk unintentionally allowing bundled content into their devices. Intrusive advertisements proliferate PUAs as well.

When clicked, the ads can execute scripts to download/install these applications without users' permission. Some PUAs have "official" download web pages.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Download software and files from official websites and via direct links. It is not safe to use torrent clients, eMule (or other Peer-to-Peer networks), third party downloaders, unofficial websites or other sources of this kind. Avoid third party installers. Check "Advanced", "Custom" and other settings, and decline offers to download or install unwanted software.

Do not click ads that are displayed on dubious websites, since they can open other untrusted websites or even cause unwanted downloads and installations. Remove any unwanted, suspicious applications (extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins) that are installed on the browser.

The same should be applied to programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system. 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 $1000 Bank of America Gift Card pop-up scam (GIF):

Text presented in the initial pop-up window:

Congratulation, Dear User,

 

We are holding an anniversary celebration to loyalty users.

 

Please click 'OK' to continue to your reward.

Text in the second pop-up window:

Congratulations!
Dear User, We are holding an anniversary celebration for next 7 Days (September.21 -> September.28) to reward your loyalty.
please click 'OK' to continue.

Text in the background page:

Congratulation, Dear User,

We are holding an anniversary celebration for next 7 Days (September.21 -> September.28), This is our way to thank you for your continual support and loyalty.

 

We will select 100 lucky user everyday to get a chance to receive an exclusive prize from us, including $1000 Walmart Gift Card, $1000 Visa Gift Card, $1000 Bank of America Gift Card, $1000 Amazon Gift Card or brand new iPhone 11!

 

Find our rewards below
All you have to do is choose the correct gift box and continue.

Screenshot of the second variant of this scam page:

Text in its pop-up window:

Your $1000 Bank of America Gift Card has been reserved for next 5 minutes!!
***CONGRATULATION !!***

 

You have to claim it or we will offer it to the next user.

Fill in the correct information to ensure accurate delivery of your $1000 Bank of America Gift Card!

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▼ 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 00 Bank of America Gift Card 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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