2021 update. National Consumer Center scam removal guide
National Consumer Center ads Removal Guide
What is National Consumer Center ads?
National Consumer Center – a scam that misleads people into thinking that they can get a prize by submitting their answers to a fake survey
National Consumer Center scam is a misleading pop-up window trying to trick users into believing that a non-existent organization is willing to give them a free iPhone or a similar prize. This scam is closely related to Amazon Gift Card scam, Wallmart scam and similar ads that are fake. Typically, they interrupt people while they are browsing on the web and ask them to fill surveys to win expensive prizes. However, in exchange for an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone, participants are usually asked to provide their personal information, such as an email address, phone number or even credit card information. Unfortunately, National Consumer Center is NOT real. Please, do NOT provide these details as their loss might lead you to identity theft, money loss or other cyber attacks.
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Consumer Center |
| Type | Scam |
| Distribution | Displayed on infected websites or legitimate sites of the related adware program is hiding on the target PC system |
| Danger level | Medium. Diminishes browsing experience and might trick into revealing personal information |
| Symptoms | Redirects to survey websites, the appearance of suspicious ads and pop-ups, freezing the web browser |
| Affected OS | Android, Windows, Mac OS X |
| To get rid of National Consumer Center ads, remove adware from the system. Install ReimageIntego if you are having system issues after virus removal to eliminate virus damage | |
The main reason why the user is interrupted by National Consumer Center scam is the adware-type virus hiding inside the system. Typically, such viruses infiltrate the system, diminish the web browser's activity and start interrupting their victims with different online scams.[1]. You can also suffer from redirects to malicious websites, annoying ads that show up in a new tab and similar content. However, this scam can also be noticed on malicious domains that have always been used for spreading such content.
At the moment, National Consumer Center malware is actively targeting Android users who are actively looking for ways that could help them fix their devices. In this case, the factory reset is probably the easiest way to fix the system. Also, you can run into the scam while using the Mac operating system. In this case, run a full system scan with anti-virus software and rest your web browsers, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and others.
REdirects are hiding behind this scam
According to victims’ reports, ads related to this scam are typically redirecting them to hxxp://electronicpromotionscenter.com/ or similar pages. The scam is suggesting to participate in online surveys to win Apple iPhone or another smartphone[2]. The described “deals” can appear in the form of a pop-up, pop-under or new tab ads.
There are many negative comments about these ads[3], and users typically say that National Consumer Center is simply a scam. Some users revealed that the ads promised free iPhones and other great prizes and then changed the award type, offering to win $100 Visa Gift Card in case the user spends at least $50 on some useless items such as diet pills or books.
According to victims, the National Consumer Center scam is seeking to swindle money, full names, and email addresses from unsuspecting victims. Therefore, we recommend staying away from fake ads and keeping your personal information to yourself because scammers can easily sell data such as your name or email address to third-parties.
Remember that your email address can end up in target lists used by spammers and sooner or later you might start receiving junk emails or even receive a malware-laden message. There is no doubt that the only way to avoid cyber threats is to stay away from described ads, and to block them, you must implement National Consumer Center removal using powerful anti-malware[4] software.
To remove National Consumer Center manually, you need to find all ad-supported items hiding on the system. You may be struggling with this procedure as PUPs tend to hide their entries to prevent their full removal. In this case, we recommend scanning the system with decent anti-malware software. To identify corrupted system files and restore the system to its primary state, use ReimageIntego.
National Consumer Center scam is actively targeting iPhone users
National Consumer Center scam was noticed actively attacking iPhone users at the beginning of the year. However, the attack scheme remains the same. Victims are asked to fill out a questionnaire to obtain an expensive prize.
However, instead of getting information on how to accept it, people are asked to reveal their personal information, including full name, contact details or similar data. Thus, it's highly recommended to take immediate action and remove National Consumer Center from iPad, iPhone, and similar devices. You can try these methods:
- clearing the browser data and history;
- blocking ads by installing the adblocker;
- resetting the device to its Factory settings.
To prevent the scam, install freeware very attentively
The adware which is responsible for interrupting you with scams is typically spread via deceptive software marketing method called bundling. This method allows grouping a couple of programs together and introducing part of them during the main program’s setup. Unfortunately, the majority of users overlook these statements because they rush to install programs.
We recommend choosing Custom or Advanced installation settings because these options give you the freedom to choose which additional programs to install and which ones to drop off. Standard and Default settings look trustworthy, unfortunately, only at first sight. They tend to conceal information about bundled programs.
Get rid of National Consumer Center surveys by using simple steps
To remove National Consumer Center virus right now, run a full system scan using a professional malware removal program. The automatic removal option guarantees the easiest and least time-consuming removal of the bogus adware program.
However, if you think that you have time and patience to carry our National Consumer Center removal manually, you might want to read the tutorial we provided below. Please be careful and not rush when trying to uninstall the dangerous adware from your computer.
Security specialists from the lesvirus.fr[5] note that adware can be hard to detect and eliminate without professional software. Thus, if you left some of the PUP-related entries, you might have to deal with redirects and ads further. Therefore, after completing the removal, check your system with anti-spyware or anti-malware just to be sure that you did not leave any of its components on the system.
If the scam is appearing on Android OS, try checking it for malicious apps:
- Find the power button and press it for a couple of seconds until you see a menu. Tap the Power off.
- Once you see a dialog window that offers you to reboot your Android to Safe Mode, select this option and OK.*
- Reboot your device into Safe Mode with the help of steps that are given above.
- When in Safe Mode, go to Settings. Once there, click on Apps or Application manager (this may differ depending on your device).
- Here, look malicious app(s) and uninstall all of them.
* If this failed to work for you, just turn off your device and then turn it on. Once it becomes active, try pressing and holding Menu, Volume Down, Volume Up or Volume Down and Volume Up together to see Safe Mode. If that doesn't work, then search the phrase “How to put into Safe mode” and add your phone's model. Then, follow the instructions.
If the scam is still interrupting you, perform the Factory reset:
- Click the Settings icon on your device. You can find it among other apps.
- Select Privacy (or Personal) and Factory reset (you can also find it as Factory data reset, Backup & reset, etc.). We recommend selecting Back up my data to protect it from the loss.
- Click Reset device to remove Android virus and other storage from your device.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of National Consumer Center ads. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Open Control Panel and then access the list of currently installed software using instructions provided below. Uninstall unknown and suspicious programs that might be related to National Consumer Center malware without any hesitations. Then clean browser shortcuts according to the guidelines.
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Move suspicious Mac apps to Trash. Use this guide if you have never tried uninstalling Mac Apps before.
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
If Firefox started to display false advertising described in the article, carry out these instructions.
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
To fix Chrome after the National Consumer Center hijack, complete instructions provided below. You need to eliminate all Chrome extensions that raise your suspicion.
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of National Consumer Center registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting adware
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
If this free removal guide helped you and you are satisfied with our service, please consider making a donation to keep this service alive. Even a smallest amount will be appreciated.
- ^ 7 Ways to Spot a Survey Scam. The Penny Hoarde. Money saving blog.
- ^ Identifying Survey Scams. SurveyPolice Blog. Online Surveys News and Updates.
- ^ National Reward Center - The Gang That Couldn't Lie Straight. Pissed Consumer. Online Reviews and Complaints Platform.
- ^ Jane McCallion, Adam Shepherd. What's the difference between antimalware and antivirus?. IT PRO. Enterprise and business IT news, reviews, features and how tos.
- ^ Les virus. Les virus. French cyber security news.