The cybercrooks behind prominent file-encryption Trojans seem to be adopting the use of all cryptocurrency kinds to receive timely payments from their victims. After the HC7 Planetary Ransomware offered its victims to pay via Ethereum, now the Moneropay Ransomware accepts payments via Monero. Keep in mind that this is not the first file-locker to use this payment method, but the number of threats relying on this currency is still rather small. The good news is that the MoneroPay Ransomware does not seem to be a very promising threat, and there’s a chance that the number of its victims will stay low relatively.

Regardless of its short reach, the MoneroPay Ransomware is still a threat that must not be underestimated because it possesses the ability to encrypt the valuable documents of its victims swiftly, and then display a ransom message, which promises that the attackers will help with the recovery of the files as soon as they receive a $120 ransom fee paid via Monero. The ransom message also contains unique ID, which victims must include in the payment details. The authors note that failing to do this will render the decryption process useless and the affected computer users will not get their data back.

Although the MoneroPay Ransomware’s attack is likely to be a very stressful experience for most users, we’d like to remind them that agreeing to send money to the threat’s operator is a major mistake. They offer zero proof that they are capable of deciphering the data so that it will not be a surprise if this is just a fraudulent scheme, which aims to take money from innocent users.

One of the peculiar things about the MoneroPay Ransomware is how this threatening application is being distributed. Apparently, its authors have disguised it as a fake cryptocurrency wallet for SpriteCoin, a currency that does not exist. The fake tool is being advertised on public cryptocurrency discussion boards so that, apparently, this is the group that the authors of this ransomware are trying to target. The advice to the victims of the MoneroPay Ransomware is to remove the infected files with the help of an anti-malware tool immediately. However, eliminating the harmful components will not undo the damage done to the data, and victims might need to resort to using 3rd-party file recovery utilities to salvage some of the encrypted files.
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