What is Scareware?

Scareware is a type of malware that utilizes social engineering to invoke fear, anxiety, and/or shock in a target in order to persuade them to purchase unwanted software. Scareware commonly takes the form of rogue security software, ransomware, or some other type of software that misleads a user into thinking that their device has been infected with a virus. If a user is sufficiently convinced by the scarware's urgent and dire warnings, they may be compelled to purchase additional software to eliminate the alleged "threat". Oftentimes this program a user downloads to fix the proposed issue is actually a malignant virus or a useless, resource-draining subscription-based service.