Victim Location 44035
Type of a scam Tech Support
I was online looking at a hotel website and alarms went off on my computer. A message appeared with a Windows icon and said to call a number for the Microsoft help desk. I couldn’t get my computer to turn off or to stop the alarms. I called the number. A man by the name of Danish told me my Muceosoft software had been compromised and that they were partnered with Microsoft as tech support. I told them I already had virus protection. They said my IP address was what wasn’t protected and in order to turn off the alarms and be able to use my computer again I had to let them help me. They already knew my name and the serial number of my computer. They had remote control of the computer. In the end, they told me that unless I purchased IP protection, anyone could hack into my tv, phone, computer, and printer. The yearly cost was too high so then they offered me a life-time senior discount. As they were downloading, my sister and brother came over and told me I was being scammed. They also looked the company up on line and found other complaints in the past. I told Global Mind to cancel the protection I was paying for. They said I would still have to pay $199.00 for cleaning up my computer. I said no and immediately called my credit card company and cancelled my card and filed a report. I also filed an on line report with Microsoft. They made it clear that they do not partner with any other tech companies. They also do not contact people for service. People contact them, not do they use scare tactics like alarms or freeze the usage of your computer. I also called the police which Microsoft suggested. Global Minds told my credit card company it was a legitimate claim and sent an invoice for another person in Colorado that I have absolutely no connection to. They charged him twice as much as me for the same service. They also gave me all of his personal I formation. This wasn’t sent directly to me from them. It was sent to my credit card company and they mailed it to me to see if it was legitimate. Unbelievable. I learned a lot from the experience but want to prevent others from being taken advantage of.