Yes, and it seems google are implicated and subservient?

I keep receiving a notice when I attempt to read my no longer available Gmail email, this (My google) account will be disabled in x number of days unless you hand over your credit card details or post a photo like that appearing on your driver's license.

And given some very devious operators are able to pose as legitimate entities! I won't be giving in to these cyber blackmail demands!

My licence is one of the new high tech ones protected by encrypted passwords; and wouldn't identity thieves just love to get their grubby hands on one of those!

Disable and be damned I say! I'll just activate the new laptop and better security, and use that and another as yet uncompromised server to send and receive emails.

Or just pay a personal visit or use a landline, we still have those and as public phones just a block from the house!

And not that inconvenient given I have to pass them when I go to collect my much more secure hand delivered, old fashioned mail!

There's just a couple of words I can find that's appropriately applicable to the filth that engage in this shiite, and they start with a capital G and a capital F!
Rhrosty.

"Victims have two choices – lose data or pay."

No there is an even better ones... Have good antivirus software and internet filter, supported by a good backup and restoration practices.

Done all that Cobber, even so, am unable to stop the server from imposing extorted money for nothing demands.
And I'll go offline permanently rather than allow (officially sanctioned?) extortion to succeed/continue, even if it is a powerful billionaire multinational, or not, and the sum is a piddling few cents!

And a no go area, if it includes giving the perp access to my financial details?

That said, I have never ever used credit cards or debit cards, with details that allow the "CLEVER" people access to my banking details.

the last time this was tried on, I managed to cancel the load and go debit card, the only one I use and just for online shopping where cash is not on; and which has a top limit and I only top up just before I need to purchase something! And advise others to do the same!

Even so, block payment and replace it with a brand new one, with different details, if I just believe I've been scammed, and something I could do again if they, the posing as the good guys, con artists, con my details, over jaw dropping inordinately expensive security!

The self evident blackmail price for just leaving you and your data alone!?

And just because my pension represents a "comfortable" income over there, doesn't mean it is here, but particularly when you're still paying a mortgage. And the plumbing has burst again necessitating expensive repairs!

However, when it comes to easy unearned money, or conversely squeezing blood from stone, rank stupidity knows no bounds, for moribund morons, who only are clever in a single area; and are outside that speciality, cretins, with average I Q's lower than the ambient temperature.
Rhrosty.

Quote "Have good antivirus software" This is now not so good because too many of them are spying on you and sending your personal information back to their servers. I uninstalled the ones I used to use (Avira then Avast) a few months ago because it was continually connecting to its home. Avira had an installed size of over 800mb's with lots of active processes. Avast have stopped the spying, but now can't be trusted.

The ransom-ware incidents do show a possible lie or total failure of the big security organizations ( CIA - NSA - GCHQ - ASIO etc ) who allegedly scoop up every email and phone call made worldwide as they are unable to do anything, even going to the extent of advising people to pay up.

For the average person or small business who only use 1 main computer it is relatively easy to protect yourself, for very large organizations it is much harder.

No single solution will be 100% proof, however layering your levels of protection and having redundancy on everything, will mitigate the risk/impact.

Make sure you have an up to date backup, 2 are better.

Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware beta at the moment but worth a look at when it is released

Maybe its time to start looking into encryption..

Another solution -- use Linux. The inbuilt security is much better and it's not yet popular enough to attract dedicated hackers.

https://linuxmint.com/

I'm not affiliated -- just very, very pleased with the product.