Victim Location 35761
Total money lost $600
Type of a scam Tech Support
On 2 February I had a "MICROSOFT" warning page pop-up on my screen. My computer was locked and there was a message that I had been hacked. To "fix" the problem, I was supposed to call 855-500-XXXX to get the problem resolved. I could not use the computer to figure-out how to fix the problem as it was locked. I am an old fellow with low tech skills so I called what I thought was Microsoft. Instead, I was connected to "Jason" at R.G. Security Solutions, LLC. I spoke to a very polite young man with Asian accent (likely Indian since he referred to his partner as "Vijay"). He said he could "fix" my computer if I paid $599.99, an odd amount. I was stuck as I thought I was dealing with a Microsoft sub-contractor. I placed a check for $600 on my scanner which he controlled. He scanned and copied the check. "Jason" then took control of the computer, eliminated some superfluous programs, replaced my anti-virus with another one, and said to call him "direct" if I had further problems. I had an inkling of a scam when Jason started lecturing me on accessing "kiddie porn". Since I had not been accessing or looking for "kiddie porn", this alerted me to a problem. Jason turned me over to the "tech supervisor" (likely Vijay) who along with Jason tried to convince me to buy more programs to install. When "Jason" was went to "fix" my computer, he had access to everything. He said he was going "off the phone" to work and then I got another indication I was being scammed. Before the phone went quiet and he turned the volume off, I heard "Jason" laughing with the other person. It was obvious he did not know the phone was still on. As soon as we were done (about 45 minutes) Vijay emailed me a receipt / terms and conditions document. When we hung up, my computer was working but I ran an anti-virus program and found eight programs newly installed. I immediately quarantined them, took a screen-shot, and deleted them. I searched the internet for "computer tech scams" and R.G. Security Solutions. I found similar scams cited for their company on the ScamPulse.com site and another. I immediately called my bank to put a ‘stop’ payment on the check when I read that the scams involved locking people’s computers and then putting their number to "un-block" it. I filed a complaint with the FTC and am posting this for the ScamPulse.com to share my experience. Old people like me with few computer skills should not have this happen and had the computer not been blocked, I could have searched this issue before getting ‘hooked’. Shame on me. I hope others do not fall for this scheme.