Via BBC -
Microsoft and Washington State's Attorney General filed lawsuits against scam artists who frighten consumers into buying useless software.
"Scareware" merchants are accused of tricking computer users into clicking on pop-up alerts that claim their device is "damaged and corrupted".
They are then persuaded to buy software that corrects the non-existent issue by offering fake security fixes.
It is a "blatant rip-off of consumers," said Attorney General Rob McKenna.
Users are "duped into downloading a fake scan (of the computer) and then duped into paying for software they don't need".
The attorney general's lawsuit has been filed against a Texas firm called Branch Software and Alpha Red and its owner James Reed McCreary IV. The suit alleged that Mr McCreary's company "sent incessant pop-ups resembling system warnings to consumers' personal computers.
"The messages read "CRITICAL ERROR MESSAGE! - REGISTRY DAMAGED AND CORRUPTED."
The complaint goes on to claim that the ads "instructed users to visit a web site to download Registry Cleaner XP" at a cost of $39.95 (£21.70)
"We won't tolerate the use of alarmist warnings or deceptive 'free scans' to trick consumers into buying software to fix a problem that doesn't even exist," said Mr McKenna.
Experts advise users to be suspicious when pop-ups appear
"We've repeatedly proven that internet companies that prey on consumers' anxieties are within our reach."
The problem is a growing one according to Eric Sites, the chief technology officer with security firm Sunbelt Software which tracks spyware and malware threats.
"In the last six months we have seen an enormous uptick in the number of people getting infected by these scareware or spyware agents.
"They are becoming a lot more prevalent and the 'scare and scam' is all about getting money out of the user," he told BBC News.
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