What a Ransomware Note Actually Says
These are the real messages left behind on victims' machines by the gangs most likely to hit a US small business. The wording is untouched. Every Tor address, contact route and wallet has been stripped out, and nothing on this page is clickable.
Ransomware group
Note variant
This note has been sanitized
The wording is unchanged, but every Tor address, contact route, wallet address and identifier has been removed. Nothing here can be used to reach a ransomware group or pay one.
~~~ You have been attacked by LockBit 5.0 - the fastest, most stable and immortal ransomware since 2019 ~~~~ >>>>> You must pay us. Tor Browser link where the stolen infortmation will be published: [Tor address removed] >>>>> What is the guarantee that we won't scam you? We are the oldest extortion gang on the planet and nothing is more important to us than our reputation. We are not a politically motivated group and want nothing but financial rewards for our work. If we defraud even one client, other clients will not pay us. In 5 years, not a single client has been left dissatisfied after making a deal with us. If you pay the ransom, we will fulfill all the terms we agreed upon during the negotiation process. Treat this situation simply as a paid training session for your system administrators, because it was the misconfiguration of your corporate network that allowed us to attack you. Our pentesting services should be paid for the same way you pay your system administrators' salaries. You can get more information about us on wikipedia [link removed] >>>>> Warning! Do not delete or modify encrypted files, it will lead to irreversible problems with decryption of files! >>>>> Don't go to the police or the FBI for help and don't tell anyone that we attacked you. They will forbid you from paying the ransom and will not help you in any way, you will be left with encrypted files and your business will die. >>>>> When buying bitcoin, do not tell anyone the true purpose of the purchase. Some brokers, especially in the US, do not allow you to buy bitcoin to pay ransom. Communicate any other reason for the purchase, such as: personal investment in cryptocurrency, bitcoin as a gift, paying to buy assets for your business using bitcoin, cryptocurrency payment for consulting services, cryptocurrency payment for any other services, cryptocurrency donations, cryptocurrency donations for Donald Trump to win the election, buying bitcoin to participate in ICO and buy other cryptocurrencies, buying cryptocurrencies to leave an inheritance for your children, or any other purpose for buying cryptocurrency. Also you can use adequate cryptocurrency brokers who do not ask questions for what you buy cryptocurrency. >>>>> After buying cryptocurrency from a broker, store the cryptocurrency on a cold wallet, such as [link removed] or any other cold cryptocurrency wallet, more details on [link removed] By paying the ransom from your personal cold cryptocurrency wallet, you will avoid any problems from regulators, police and brokers. >>>>> Don't be afraid of any legal consequences, you were very scared, that's why you followed all our instructions, it's not your fault if you are very scared. Not a single company that paid us has had issues. Any excuses are just for insurance company to not pay on their obligation. >>>>> You need to contact us via TOR sites with your personal ID Download and install Tor Browser [link removed] Write to the chat room and wait for an answer, we'll guarantee a response from us. If you need a unique ID for correspondence with us that no one will know about, ask it in the chat, we will generate a secret chat for you and give you ID via private one-time memos service, no one can find out this ID but you. Sometimes you will have to wait some time for our reply, this is because we have a lot of work and we attack hundreds of companies around the world. Tor Browser link for chat with us: [Tor address removed] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>> Your personal identifier to communicate with us ID: [snip] <<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>> Advertising: Want a lamborghini, a ferrari and lots of titty girls? Sign up and start your pentester billionaire journey in 5 minutes with us. [Tor address removed] After registration, you will receive the most flawless and reliable tools for encrypting almost all operating systems on the planet and a platform for negotiating with attacked companies. Version: ChuongDong v1.01 | x64
What to notice in the wording
The pressure in these notes is engineered. Recognising the pattern in advance is what keeps a panicked decision from being made in the first hour.
Manufactured trust
Almost every note promises the gang is honest and has 'never left a client dissatisfied.' It is sales copy. Paying does not reliably return your data, and a meaningful share of payers get partial or no recovery.
Don't call the police
Notes tell victims that law enforcement will forbid payment and won't help. The opposite is true: the FBI and CISA provide free incident support, and reporting is often required by your insurer.
An artificial clock
Countdowns and rising prices exist to stop you from consulting a lawyer, your insurer, or an IT firm. The deadline is a negotiating position, not a technical fact.
Blame shifted to your staff
Several notes reframe the attack as a paid 'training session' caused by your administrators. It is designed to make leadership quietly pay rather than disclose.