The Internet has transformed how people exchange goods across the world. The number of people who buy online continues to rise every day. According to Statista, over 2.14 billion people around the world are expected to purchase goods and services online by 2021.
This is why a number of companies are putting special effort into building their online presence in a bid to increase their sales. However, there are certain groups of people who rely on malicious applications to promote their products. These companies use malware like adware and browser hijackers for capturing online buyers and pester them to buy things they don’t need.
The National Consumer Center Scam is one of the applications that spam ads for their sponsors. In this article, we talk about the National Consumer Center Scam and how you can remove it from your computer.
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As the name suggests, the “National Consumer Center” is a social engineering scam. It tries to trick users by engaging them in different surveys and then asking them to subscribe to useless paid services.
The developers of this scam try to portray themselves as representative of famous tech companies like Samsung, Apple, and Google. However, the National Consumer Center is run by a group of scammers waiting to rob a few dollars every month under false pretenses.
Victims of the scam report seeing pop-ups out of a sudden. In order to look more authentic, these scammers brand these pop-ups as messages from the “National Consumer Center.” Some people fall into their trap and perceive these messages to be legitimate and sent by a national agency.
After gaining the trust of these people, the pop-up will ask them to complete certain surveys. It tempts their victims by offering prizes like free iPhones, iPads, MacBook Pros, or Samsung Galaxy phones to complete those surveys.
However, these surveys are used to persuade victims into paying a weekly fee to stay relevant in the ‘competition.’ Besides that, these pop-ups will then try to gather the phone numbers of all victims in order to pester them again.
Unfortunately, most people don’t pay attention to the software they download on their computers. As a result, they overlook programs that are bundled with the software they want. Other times, distributors of free software embed malicious elements, and users install these applications without knowing about their consequences.
Once the adware application is installed on your device, it will redirect you to websites that show the National Consumer Center’s promotional message. Contrary to other viruses, adware like the National Consumer Center Scam don’t operate secretly, and you will be able to detect its presence easily.
Typical signs of an adware infection include seeing ads in unusual places, web pages not displayed properly and frequent redirects to other web pages. However, it’s not uncommon for adware to hijack your web browser and change its homepage and settings. Other times, these unwanted programs will install other programs without your permission.
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Although the initial purpose of the National Consumer Center scam is to sell sponsored products online, some users have reported more serious problems. The application can use the phone numbers collected from victims for identity theft. Moreover, this could also lead to loss of personal information.
Adware like National Consumer Center promotes deceptive offers. Therefore, people who buy into these ads get faulty or useless products instead of genuine services.
Some users even reveal that the application showed ads promising free iPhones if they spent at least $50 on useless items. However, when they spent the required amount, the application changed the award.
Instead of iPhones, those users were offered a $100 Visa Gift Card that gave them the option to buy the same useless products again. In short, the National Consumer Center scam is only a front to collect money, names, and contact information from unsuspecting victims.
You might be wondering why these scammers ask for your full name and email address in their surveys. Most people don’t realize this, but companies are always keen to get their hands on any information they can get about you.
The scammers behind the National Consumer Center collect your personal information in order to sell it to third-parties. These third parties then use that information to analyze your behavior online and then annoy you with even more ads.
The email addresses you enter in these surveys can later be used to spam you with ads and promotions. However, there can be far more dangerous consequences of your actions.
Cybercriminals buy collections of various emails addresses from third-parties and then use these addresses to spread malware-laden emails. These emails are the most common method for delivering dangerous viruses, such as Trojan horses and ransomware. These viruses can destroy valuable data and leak sensitive information like your banking credentials.
Moreover, since the adware has the tendency to download additional applications, you can also easily become victims of other malware. For this reason, you need a powerful antivirus program to keep you protected from these hazardous programs.
| Name of Software | National Consumer Center |
| Type of | Adware/Potentially Unwanted Program/ Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | National Consumer Center isn’t a virus on its own. However, it swindles money from its victims and exposes their computers to viruses through other means. Therefore, the application presents a low to medium risk. |
| Symptoms | Victims can observe several symptoms at once after the infection. Most notably, they will witness countless pop-ups and ad banners promoting different products. Besides that, victims will notice a significant decrease in their computer’s performance. |
| Distribution Method | Adware, such as the National Consumer Center can not be installed on computers without your help. They come bundled with the free services or software you install on your computer. You can also be infected by these programs after visiting dubious sites. |
| Detection Tool | Although you don’t need a detection tool to know you are infected by adware, you will need an antivirus to protect you from malware attacks.TotalAV is a robust antivirus that can thwart cyberattacks and protect you from harmful viruses you may get because of National Consumer Center. |
The National Consumer Center can put you at risk of contracting other viruses. So you should not waste your time removing the virus from your machine. Follow the steps below to remove the National Consumer Center scam manually.
First of all, you will need to restart your computer in Safe Mode. Running the computer in Safe Mode allows users to remove all existing problems effectively.
Safe Mode prevents start-up programs, corrupt hardware drivers and malware programs from disturbing malware removal. The following method instructs how you can restart your device in Safe Mode in Windows 10:
Open the run command interface by pressing “Windows Key + R” simultaneously. After that,
type “msconfig” to open settings.
Once the system configuration opens, click on the Boot option available in the top section of the window.
After that, select the checkbox beside the label “Safe Boot,” click on “Apply” and select OK.
Once you select the Safe Boot option, a System Configuration window will pop up to ask permission for restarting the device. Choose “Restart” and wait until the computer turns back on.
Sincethe National Consumer Center is also a browser hijacker, you will need to reset your browser settings to remove additional programs added by the scam. However, doing so will not remove core files hidden somewhere in your operating system.
The National Consumer Center can infect every popular web browser. The following method instructs how to remove National Consumer Center from Microsoft Edge. Just follow the steps below to reset the web browser:
To reset your Microsoft Edge browser, you will need to click on the icon present at the right corner of the browser screen. After that, select Settings from the resulting drop-down list.
Alternatively, you can type “edge://settings/” in the address bar and hit Enter to open the settings.
After open the settings, select the ‘Reset Settings’ option in this list.
Consequently, you will have to click on “Restore settings to their default values” and then select “Reset Settings” to confirm the action.
After the system gets rebooted, simply press the short cut keys “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” simultaneously to open the taskbar. In the taskbar, you’ll be able to see which programs are using your system memory. Therefore, you will be able to end those processes to free up your memory.
Just click on the Details tab if you are using Windows 8 or 10 or the Processes tab if you’re using Windows 7. Since a suspicious application might be running multiple processes in the background, it’s important to shut down each task. Select individual processes and then press End Process.
Ending the individual process will do nothing unless you remove the entire application from your system. To do that, you’ll have to open the Control Panel. Press shortcut keys “Windows
Key + R” simultaneously to launch the run command interface.
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It’s true that you can remove suspicious applications downloaded by National Consumer Center manually. However, it’s highly unlikely that you will remove every virus from your system. Plus, manual removal will not eliminate the core files of those viruses in the System Registry of your Windows.
Ultimately, you will need a fully-fledged antivirus program to put an end to the dangers posed by these viruses. In our opinion, TotalAV antivirus is a great way of removing the National Consumer Center adware and its subsidiary viruses. TotalAV will delete every core file that National Consumer Center has hidden in the operating system.
By downloading TotalAV, you can ensure that your personal information doesn’t get leaked to cybercriminals. Moreover, the anti-spam application will allow you to enjoy an ad-free browsing experience. Download TotalAV now and be safe from all kinds of viruses in the future.
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