‘Frozen screen’ scams are evolving into advanced stealthy attacks hitting millions, says Barracuda Research
New CypherLoc scareware kit locks browsers, blocks controls and pressures victims into calling fake support
CypherLoc is an advanced web-based scam that locks a victim’s browser and pressures them into calling a fraudulent tech support number. New findings from Barracuda Research show the attack uses stealth techniques to avoid detection by security tools such as scanners and sandboxes. Since the start of 2026, researchers have observed around 2.8 million attacks using CypherLoc.
How the attack works
The attack typically begins with a phishing email containing a link, either in the message or an attachment. The link opens a page that appears normal at first.
The attack code is hidden in the web page and only activates if specific conditions are met. For example, if a special code key is present and the user is not using a security scanner or test environment. Once triggered, the page switches to an attacker...
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