How to remove SCMBANKER Trojan from the operating system

What kind of malware is SCMBANKER Trojan?

SCMBANKER Trojan is a banking trojan built in PowerShell and aimed at users of Mexican financial institutions. According to research by Elastic Security Labs, it is part of an active, operator-assisted fraud campaign tracked as REF6045.

The malware is delivered through ClickFix fake CAPTCHA pages that trick victims into running a malicious command. Once installed, it displays fake bank security alerts designed to panic victims into calling attacker-controlled phone numbers.

SCMBANKER also hijacks the clipboard, silently replacing CLABE account numbers and payment card numbers with attacker-controlled alternatives to redirect bank transfers. A commercial remote-access tool installed alongside the malware gives operators live control of the infected machine.

SCMBANKER Trojan overview

SCMBANKER is structured as a modular toolkit, with each PowerShell script responsible for a distinct part of the fraud operation. As documented by Elastic Security Labs, the campaign relies on a live operator dashboard, meaning real humans monitor infected machines and issue commands in near real time.

The malware sends a command and control beacon to the attacker's server every 30 seconds. Each check-in reports the machine name, a unique client ID, local and public IP addresses, and the status of installed components. Operators push commands back through text files hosted on the same server.

During installation, a fake Windows Update screen is displayed to distract the victim while the malware toolkit downloads in the background. The victim sees what appears to be a routine system update in progress, giving the malware time to set itself up undetected.

Banking fraud capabilities

SCMBANKER continuously monitors which windows are open on the infected computer. When it detects a title matching a Mexican bank, fintech platform, payment processor, cryptocurrency exchange, or the SAT (Mexico's tax authority), it immediately begins capturing screenshots at a rapid rate.

At that point, the malware can display a fake bank security page in the browser, designed to look like a real warning from the victim's own bank. These pages cite vague security problems, show a fake reference number, and urge the victim to call a phone number controlled by the attackers.

SCMBANKER can also redirect the victim to a fake banking portal entirely. It places a phishing URL into the clipboard and then simulates keystrokes to open it in the browser, replacing the real banking site without any obvious sign that a change has occurred.

Clipboard hijacking and remote access

In the background, SCMBANKER monitors the clipboard for CLABE numbers (18-digit Mexican bank routing identifiers) and 16-digit payment card numbers. When either format is detected, the value is silently replaced with an alternative loaded from a configuration file on the attacker's server.

The toolkit installs Remote Utilities, a legitimate commercial remote-access application, configured to silently connect to operator infrastructure. This gives attackers live screen access, full keyboard and mouse control, and the ability to interact with the victim's computer directly.

The malware also includes a keylogging module capable of recording everything the victim types and transmitting it to an attacker-controlled Telegram channel.

Persistence and defense evasion

SCMBANKER uses multiple methods to survive reboots. It writes a launch command to the Windows Registry Run key, ensuring it starts automatically at login. A VBScript file is also copied to the Windows Startup folder as a backup persistence mechanism.

The malware hides all its files by applying hidden and system attributes, making them invisible in standard folder views. It also removes the uninstall record for the Remote Utilities component, preventing it from appearing in the installed programs list.

During installation, a UAC bypass loop retries every 20 seconds until administrator access is granted. The malware also briefly traps the mouse cursor to a single pixel on screen, stopping the victim from interacting with the computer while the toolkit downloads in the background.

Conclusion

SCMBANKER Trojan poses a direct financial risk to users of Mexican banking services. By combining fake bank overlays, clipboard hijacking, and operator-controlled remote access, it can intercept real bank transfers while keeping the victim completely unaware of what is happening.

Victims may suffer significant financial losses, identity theft, and full remote control of their computer by attackers. The malware's multiple persistence mechanisms and use of a legitimate remote-access tool make it difficult to detect without dedicated security software. It should be removed immediately.

More examples of banking trojans are Maverick, CHAVECLOAK, and Tinynuke.

How did SCMBANKER Trojan infiltrate my computer?

As documented by Elastic Security Labs, SCMBANKER is distributed through ClickFix fake CAPTCHA pages. These pages are hosted on attacker-controlled domains, written in Spanish, and designed to target Mexican internet users specifically.

Visitors see what appears to be a standard verification check. The page instructs them to press the Windows key and R to open the Run dialog, paste a command, and press Enter. Running that command downloads and executes the malware toolkit from an attacker-controlled server.

Once the script runs, a fake Windows Update screen appears while the malware installs in the background. More broadly, threats like SCMBANKER also reach victims through phishing emails, compromised websites, and malicious downloads from untrustworthy sources.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be suspicious of any website that asks you to paste a command into the Windows Run dialog, PowerShell, or a terminal. Legitimate services never require this step. Download software only from official developer websites and avoid pirated content, key generators, and software cracks.

Keep your operating system and all software updated, and use a reputable security program to run regular scans. Avoid granting notification permissions to unfamiliar websites and be cautious with unexpected pop-ups or ads. If you believe that your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Fake CAPTCHA page (ClickFix) used to deliver SCMBANKER Trojan (source: elastic.co):

Fake Windows Update screen displayed as a distraction during SCMBANKER Trojan installation (source: elastic.co):

Fake bank security pages displayed by SCMBANKER Trojan to victims (source: elastic.co):

How to remove malware manually?

Most trojan infections can be removed by running a full system scan with Combo Cleaner. The full manual procedure below is for cases where automatic removal failed, where you want to verify a scan caught everything, or where the threat has multiple persistence points.

Tools you'll need

Combo Cleaner Antivirus 7-days free trial

Recommended primary scanner. VB100 certified. The 7-day free trial is available.

Microsoft Defender Offline Free · built-in

Built into Windows. Boots to a clean environment to catch rootkits.

Process Explorer Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Better than Task Manager - shows full paths and signatures.

Autoruns Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Lists every place malware can persist on your system.

Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) Free

Official Microsoft on-demand scanner. Always-current signatures - expires every 10 days.

Phase 1~ 5 min

Contain - limit the damage

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1

Disconnect from the network

30 secNo tool needed

Unplug your Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. If you're on a laptop, the airplane-mode key works fastest.

Why this matters

Many trojans exfiltrate data - saved browser passwords, banking sessions, screenshots - and accept remote commands. Cutting the network stops both immediately. Keep it disconnected until Phase 4.

2

Boot into Safe Mode with Networking

3 min

Safe Mode loads a minimal set of drivers and stops most malware from auto-running. "With Networking" lets you download tools - re-enable Wi-Fi only after you've booted in.

Windows 11

Open Settings → System → Recovery. Click Restart now next to Advanced startup.

Your computer will restart into the "Choose an option" menu. Click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. After the second reboot, press 5 or F5.

Windows 10

Click the Windows logo, hold Shift, click the Power icon and choose Restart. In the Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. Press F5.

Windows 8

Go to the Start Screen, type Advanced, select Settings → Advanced startup options → Restart now → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup settings → Restart → F5.

Note: Windows 8 reached end-of-life in January 2023 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Windows 7

Click Start → Shut Down → Restart → OK. As the system boots, press F8 repeatedly until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, then choose Safe Mode with Networking.

Note: Windows 7 reached end-of-life in January 2020 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Phase 2~ 15 min

Identify - find what's hiding

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3

Inspect running processes with Process Explorer

Tool: Process Explorer5 min

Download Process Explorer from Microsoft Sysinternals. Run it as Administrator. Click Options → Verify Image Signatures and View → Lower Pane View → DLLs.

Sort by "Verified Signer." Anything unsigned running from %AppData%, %LocalAppData%, %Temp%, or %ProgramData% is suspicious. Right-click → Properties to see the full image path. Right-click → "Search Online" to look up unfamiliar process names.

Why not just Task Manager

Task Manager hides full file paths, doesn't show digital signatures, and groups processes in ways that make malware easy to miss. Process Explorer is the same tool Microsoft engineers use.

4

Map every persistence point with Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns 14.x10 min

Download Autoruns. Right-click Autoruns.exe and choose Run as administrator - without elevation, Autoruns can't inspect protected registry hives.

In the menu, open Options → Hide Microsoft Entries and Options → Hide Empty Locations, then click Refresh.

Modern trojans don't just live in startup. Walk through these tabs and look for unsigned or unfamiliar entries:

• Logon - classic Run/RunOnce keys
• Scheduled Tasks - frequent hiding spot, especially tasks with PowerShell, MSHTA, or rundll32 actions
• Services - unsigned services in non-Microsoft folders
• WMI - Event Subscriptions are a stealthy persistence mechanism (MITRE T1546.003)
• Image Hijacks - Image File Execution Options "Debugger" abuse
• AppInit - DLLs loaded into every GUI process
• Browser plug-ins - unsigned add-ons across all installed browsers

Pro tip

Right-click any suspicious entry → "Jump to Image" to see the actual file. Right-click → "Search Online" opens VirusTotal for the file hash. Don't delete yet - just write down the file paths and entry names. We'll remove them after the scans.

5

Check the hosts file and DNS settings

3 minBuilt into Windows

Trojans often redirect bank, antivirus, and update domains to attacker-controlled servers by editing the hosts file or DNS settings.

Hosts file: Open Notepad as Administrator and open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Legitimate entries are commented with #. Any uncommented IP-to-domain mapping is suspicious - especially redirects for microsoft.com, windowsupdate, or your bank.

DNS settings: Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run ipconfig /all. Confirm your DNS servers point to your ISP, your router, or a known public resolver (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8). Then open Settings → Network & internet → [your adapter] → DNS server assignment and verify both DNS and DNS over HTTPS (DoH) settings haven't been hijacked.

Why this matters

A clean PC with hijacked DNS is still a compromised PC. You'll think you're at chase.com and you'll be at the attacker's clone.

Phase 3~ 60-90 min

Remove - three scans, one cleanup

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No single antivirus catches everything. The order below is intentional: offline scan first (catches rootkits before Windows fully loads), then on-demand scanners on the running system, then manual cleanup of anything they missed.

6

Run Microsoft Defender Offline

Tool: Built into Windows15 min

Reboot to normal Windows. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options. Select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now. Your computer will restart into a stripped-down environment and scan before the full operating system loads.

Why this comes first

Rootkits and bootkits hide from any scanner running on the same Windows session that's already infected. A pre-boot offline scan sees the disk before the malware can hide itself.

Recommended antivirus

Combo Cleaner

VB100 certified. Includes anti-trojan, registry/persistence scanning, anti-spyware in one pass. The 7-day free trial is available.

Download Combo Cleaner

7

Run Combo Cleaner full system scan

Tool: Combo Cleaner20-40 min

Install Combo Cleaner and run a full system scan (not the quick scan). Let it complete fully, review the detected threats, and apply the recommended actions. Combo Cleaner will quarantine known trojans and registry persistence.

8

Run Microsoft Safety Scanner as a second-opinion scan

Tool: Microsoft Safety Scanner15 min

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT.exe), Microsoft's free on-demand tool. The binary expires every 10 days, which means every download has the latest signatures. Run a full scan after Combo Cleaner to catch anything one engine alone might miss.

Why a second scan

Different scanning engines catch different threats. Running an additional Microsoft scan after Combo Cleaner is the single most underused verification step in malware removal.

9

Manually remove anything still listed in Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns10 min

Reopen Autoruns. Anything you flagged in Step 4 that's still present hasn't been caught by the automated scans. For each remaining suspicious entry: right-click → Delete in Autoruns (this removes the persistence registration), then navigate to the file path and delete the actual file. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Important

Some malware files reappear after deletion because something else on the system recreates them. If you delete a file and it returns within minutes, you have a remaining persistence point that Autoruns didn't show - usually a service or scheduled task running under SYSTEM. Re-run the scans from Steps 6-8 or proceed to a clean install (see end of guide).

Phase 4~ 15 min

Recover - restore browsers and security

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10

Reset browsers and clear notification permissions

5 min

Trojans and adware frequently hijack browsers - change the default search engine, install rogue extensions, or grant themselves notification permissions to keep displaying scam pop-ups even after the malware is gone.

• Chrome: visit chrome://settings/reset and click "Restore settings to their original defaults." Then visit chrome://settings/content/notifications and remove any unfamiliar sites.
• Edge: visit edge://settings/reset. Then check edge://settings/content/notifications.
• Firefox: open about:support and click Refresh Firefox (Firefox uses "Refresh," not "Reset"). Then check Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Notifications.

Review installed extensions in each browser and remove anything you don't recognize, especially extensions you didn't install yourself.

11

Re-enable Defender, Tamper Protection, and update everything

10 min

Many trojans disable security software. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings and confirm Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection, and Tamper Protection are all turned on. Tamper Protection prevents malware from disabling Defender silently.

Then run Windows Update (Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates) and update your browsers and applications. The infection vector that let the trojan in originally usually involves outdated software.

Phase 5~ 15 min + 7 days

Verify & secure

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12

Change passwords from a clean device

20 min⚠ Critical

If the trojan was an info-stealer (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar, and similar are extremely common), assume every password saved in your browser is compromised. Change them from a different, known-clean device - your phone is fine if it's not infected.

Recommended order:

1. Primary email first - it's the recovery hub for everything else
2. Banking and financial accounts
3. Password manager master password (if you use one)
4. Social media, shopping, and remaining accounts

Where available, enable phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (passkeys / FIDO2 hardware keys / authenticator apps) - SMS-based MFA is bypassable by sophisticated attackers.

13

Verify the clean and monitor for 7 days

5 min + 1 week monitoring

Reconnect to the network and run one final full scan with Combo Cleaner. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and switch to the Startup apps tab - confirm nothing suspicious has reappeared.

Over the next 7 days, watch for symptom recurrence: unexpected high CPU usage, unknown processes returning, browser redirects, or pop-ups. If anything returns, you missed a persistence point and the procedure needs to be repeated - or you may have a deeper compromise that requires a clean install.

When to clean install Windows instead

Manual removal isn't always the right answer. Reinstalling Windows from scratch is the only way to be 100% certain when:

• The malware reappears after every removal attempt
• A bootkit or UEFI rootkit was detected (this class of threat sits below the operating system and survives a normal Windows reinstall)
• A confirmed credential-theft trojan ran with administrator privileges (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar) - the system likely has multiple unknown payloads
• The PC is used for online banking, business email, or anything where partial doubt isn't acceptable

A clean install is a 30-60 minute process: Windows 11 reinstall via Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything → Cloud download. Back up documents to external storage first, scan the backup with Combo Cleaner before restoring it, and reinstall applications fresh - never restore them from a backup of the infected system.

Important: Manual removal requires advanced computer skills. If you're not confident identifying system files from malicious files, run an automated scan with Combo Cleaner and Windows Defender and stop there - that path catches the vast majority of consumer trojans without the risk of breaking Windows by deleting the wrong file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

My computer is infected with SCMBANKER Trojan malware, should I format my storage device to get rid of it?

Reformatting the storage device will remove SCMBANKER Trojan, but it will also erase all data on the drive. Running a trusted security tool such as Combo Cleaner is the recommended first step, as it can remove the infection without destroying personal files.

What are the biggest issues that SCMBANKER Trojan malware can cause?

SCMBANKER Trojan can cause direct financial losses by silently replacing CLABE account numbers and card numbers in the clipboard, diverting transfers to attacker-controlled accounts. It also gives attackers remote control of the infected computer, which can lead to further data theft and additional malware infections.

What is the purpose of SCMBANKER Trojan malware?

The purpose of SCMBANKER Trojan is to commit banking fraud against users of Mexican financial institutions. It does this by displaying fake bank security alerts, hijacking clipboard content to redirect transfers, and giving operators live remote control of the victim's computer.

How did SCMBANKER Trojan malware infiltrate my computer?

SCMBANKER Trojan spreads through ClickFix-style fake CAPTCHA pages that instruct visitors to paste a malicious command into the Windows Run dialog. More broadly, threats of this type also reach victims through phishing emails, compromised websites, and malicious software downloads.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Yes. Combo Cleaner can detect and remove SCMBANKER Trojan and similar threats. Because this malware installs multiple persistence components, running a full system scan is important to make sure all parts of the infection are thoroughly eliminated.