The FBI’s Denver field office issued a warning in early March that consumers should be aware of online file converter scams. Many video editors have used online file converters, and your humble author, who is also a video editor, is raising his hand as he is guilty as charged. Many of us with an extensive set of tools on our computers might often find it easier just to Google a conversion that we need to execute quickly, go to the first link we see, and try to make that conversion happen. Sometimes, that’s easier than digging into your toolset and finding the right tool for the job. I believe this warning will make me think twice about that next time I feel lazy regarding my file conversions.

While the warning mentions documents, this sentence caught my eye: “The suspect program might claim to be an MP3 or MP4 downloading tool.”

The first thing I thought of in this case is the myriad YouTube downloaders that will be returned if you Google search “YouTube downloading tool.” This particular search query is a gold mine for listicle sites and, if the FBI is to be believed, a potential gold mine for scammers. I guess you never know exactly what you are getting when you click download after pasting in that YouTube share link.

I get why this can be appealing, as YouTube ripping and pulling other video files off the internet has always been a cat-and-mouse game between the video providers and those attempting to create tools to download them. I have had a YouTube downloading service work great one day, only to come back the next day and it will not work at all.

My personal favorite, as far as YouTube downloaders are concerned, these days is PullTube. I learned about PullTube through the Setapp the online subscription-based Mac app store that provides access to dozens upon dozens of Mac apps for a monthly fee. PullTube has not let me down yet.

As far as other conversions are concerned, if you are running Adobe Creative Cloud, you have Adobe Media Encoder that will convert many different video and audio formats. Apple Compressor is a very affordable option for converting many things in the audio and video worlds.

As far as documents go, many word processors will let you open one file type and export another. And again for those in the Adobe Creative Cloud world, Adobe Acrobat is incredibly powerful for working with all things PDF, both with the local version and the online tools as well.

Here’s the full text of the FBI Denver warning:

The FBI Denver Field Office is warning that agents are increasingly seeing a scam involving free online document converter tools, and we want to encourage victims to report instances of this scam.

In this scenario, criminals use free online document converter tools to load malware onto victims’ computers, leading to incidents such as ransomware.

“The best way to thwart these fraudsters is to educate people so they don’t fall victim to these fraudsters in the first place,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “If you or someone you know has been affected by this scheme, we encourage you to make a report and take actions to protect your assets. Every day, we are working to hold these scammers accountable and provide victims with the resources they need.”

To conduct this scheme, cyber criminals across the globe are using any type of free document converter or downloader tool. This might be a website claiming to convert one type of file to another, such as a .doc file to a .pdf file. It might also claim to combine files, such as joining multiple .jpg files into one .pdf file. The suspect program might claim to be an MP3 or MP4 downloading tool.

These converters and downloading tools will do the task advertised, but the resulting file can contain hidden malware giving criminals access to the victim’s computer. The tools can also scrape the submitted files for:

• Personal identifying information, such as social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, etc.)
• Banking information
• Cryptocurrency information (seed phrases, wallet addresses, etc.)
• Email addresses
• Passwords

Unfortunately, many victims don’t realize they have been infected by malware until it’s too late, and their computer is infected with ransomware or their identity has been stolen.

The FBI Denver Field Office encourages victims or attempted victims of this type of scheme to report it to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

In addition, the FBI Denver Field Office recommends taking the following actions to protect yourself from this scam:

• Take a breath, slow down and think. Be aware of your actions online and what risks you could be exposed to.
• Keep your virus scan software up to date and scan any file you receive before opening it to help eliminate malicious software from being installed on your computer.

If you are a victim of this scam, here are some steps to take:

• Contact your financial institutions immediately. Take steps to protect your identity and your accounts.
• Change all your passwords using a clean, trusted device.
• Make a report at IC3.gov
• Run up-to-date virus scan software to check for potentially malicious software installed by the scammers. Consider taking your computer to a professional company specializing in virus and malware removal services.