National Consumer Center Pop-Ups Collect Your Data By Fooling You Into Thinking You’ve Won a Prize
If you happen to come across a pop-up that says you are eligible for a free gift, and it sounds too good to be true, you may have encountered a fake online offer scheme that could be brought on by adware. An example of this is the “National Consumer Center” pop-ups that may appear on your screen, offering you a free prize. It will say that you only need to click the “OK” button to claim your prize. But by doing so, you’ll be redirected to a website with an authentic-looking URL – something along the lines of www dot national consumer center dot com or org, that is set on collecting your personal information.
The ‘National Consumer Center’ pop-ups may be caused by adware components installed on your web browser. These pop-ups also may be displayed on some of the websites you visit if they contain poorly regulated ad content. Users are cautioned not to fall for these tactics, as they are not likely to receive any of the promised prizes described in the ‘National Consumer Center’ pop-ups.
The advertisements associated with the ‘National Consumer Center’ message may attempt to direct unsuspecting users to the address: hxxp://electronicpromotionscenter.com/ or similar domains that contain corrupted content. The ‘National Consumer Center’ pop-ups are closely linked to several other known bogus online offer schemes, including the prize-related Walmart and Amazon Gift Card scams.
These kinds of scams rely heavily on the victims volunteering to give away their personal information. This is generally achieved by having users participate in online surveys. The survey is presented as a condition to receive whatever free “prize” the users will supposedly receive. As the victims continue to fill out the surveys, the questions will progressively become more personal. The ‘National Consumer Center’ will then request information such as phone numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers, and postal addresses, arguing that this information is necessary for the gift delivery.
If you find yourself seeing these kinds of pop-ups even when you are visiting legitimate sites, you likely have adware or other threats on your computer. The adware may have been installed without your knowledge via software bundling. To avoid encountering adware, it is highly recommended that you opt for the custom installation method when downloading new software and only choose programs you genuinely need and are familiar with. In the interim, it is recommended that you look through your list of downloaded software and remove any unnecessary or unwanted programs, and additionally conduct regular scans of your PC to eliminate any unwanted adware or other threats.
