Victim Location 13053
Type of a scam Counterfeit Product
An audible and visible message flashed on our computer screen saying it’s on lock down due to illegal activity . message said to call toll free number. Scanner showed me or passwords and social security numbers. Assured me that if I paid them they could clean up or network etc,etc.
Victim Location 56470
Total money lost $599
Type of a scam Tech Support
The scenario followed very closely the typical tech support scam as outlined on the BBB site. After calling the number the tech claimed my computer had been compromised, and promised to fix it. I was told not to turn it off and to log off any other devices using my wifi (so I could not independently verify this scam on line). He required me to download connection software so he could remotely take over my machine. He proceeded to show me supposedly problematic issues with my machine (which I later found were not problems). I was redirected to a finance guy who outlined my payment options. After providing my credit card information they told to go have a cup of coffee and they would fix it. They called back later and told me it was all fixed. I see they removed my McAffee anti virus software and replaced it with Semantic. I did some research and realized I had been scammed. I called them back asking to cancel the 5 year support contract they required. Was told I could, but it would cost me $150 for their tech time. I called my bank and will be asking for a charge back.
Victim Location 77062
Total money lost $349.98
Type of a scam Tech Support
My Mother is not very computer savy. An alert popped up on her computer screen. She says she could not do anything on her computer but there was a phone number to call. She called that number and paid them nearly $350 to "fix" her computer. The thing is she is disabled and half blind. She doesn’t know what an IP address is. I asked her how they connected to her computer and she had no idea. It is my opinion they actively phished her and were already connected to her computer. They would not have been able to connect to her otherwise. I called the company and they told me that the Alert phone number was a "Global Helpline" and that when she called she was "routed to HelloGeeks". When i saw her computer the icons on the desktop looked different. There seems to be some kind of new ‘skin’ over the Windows. It just looks different. The Norton AntiVirus she had has a different icon all together. I logged in to my Norton account and the computer is no longer on my device list. So the Norton Icon is fake and runs a program on a fake server.