Here’s a scary scenario. You’re innocently surfing the Web, maybe on an unfamiliar site, not paying close attention. Suddenly your computer screen fills with illegal pornographic images of minors. You try to navigate away, but a warning screen branded by the National Security Administration’s Internet Surveillance Program pops up with the message: “Your computer has been locked due to suspicion of illegal content downloading and distribution.”

You are then offered a sort of Hobson’s choice: Pay a fine immediately, or face prosecution for downloading child pornography.

The folks behind that scam were actually based in Russia, SC Magazine reported, not NSA headquarters. The number of people entrapped by this type of scam has been increasing exponentially. In a recent report from McAfee, an Internet security company, there were fewer than 25,000 samples of ransomware catalogued per quarter in the first half of 2011. In the second quarter of 2013 alone, the number of new samples multiplied to more than 320,000, (which was double the number in the first quarter of this year).

“During the past two quarters we have catalogued more ransomware than in all previous periods combined,” MacAfee found. “This trend is also reflected by warnings from law enforcement and federal agencies around the globe.”

If you think the most common cyber scam still involves deposed Nigerian royalty eliciting your help to extract fortunes from African banks, your time machine has stalled. Cyber ninjas have become far more creative, sophisticated and inscrutable. With that in mind, here are five links you should never, ever click.

1. Mobile Apps That Are Unfamiliar to You

It’s easy to think of spam and phishing as email-based scams. But with the rise of mobile devices, scammers have added mobile apps to their repertoire. Malware attacks on Android phones grew by 35% to nearly 18,000 new samples in the second quarter of 2013, according to McAfee.

It appears the onslaught will only grow worse. While the number of attempted mobile device hacks increased by just over a third, the total number of new malware applications discovered by McAfee researchers in the second quarter was double the number found in the first. This trend suggests that cyber scam artists are honing their craft.

Mobile malware takes many forms. It could purport to come from your bank. It could trick you into paying for a fake dating app. Some scammers even “weaponize” legitimate apps, turning real programs into spying machines that siphon your location, contact and other data away from legal enterprises and funnel it into the black market.

How to Avoid It: Control the impulse! Don’t just click on any app no matter how cool it seems at first blush. And just because you see it in the app store doesn’t mean it’s safe. Do the research to make sure it’s the real deal before you download.

2. Remote Access

In the latest and most popular iteration of this scam, con men pose as employees of Microsoft. They send emails, instant messages or texts with warnings that your computer has contracted a virus, and provide a link that you can click so a “Microsoft employee” can fix the problem. The thieves claim to work for different divisions of Microsoft such as Windows Helpdesk and the Microsoft Research and Development Team.

Once the scammers gain access, they “can install malicious software, steal personal information, take control of the computer remotely or direct consumers to fraudulent websites where they are asked to enter their credit card information,” according to the Better Business Bureau.

How to Avoid It: Never trust an unsolicited contact. Only provide personal information or agree to a remote access session when you initiate communication. If, for some reason, you are contacted by anyone representing an institution with which you have a relationship, always confirm the authenticity and contact information of the organization before you respond and then only to the appropriate department.

3. Porn

While you mindlessly surf the Internet, you may accidentally click on sketchy ads or spam. Or perhaps you get an email with a tantalizing picture or link, which ultimately sends you to a site rife with illegal pornographic images. Such despicable lures are just one part of the larger epidemic of ransomware.

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