Victim Location 44145
Type of a scam Tech Support
On 6/29/20, my internet provider technician came to my house because I was having problems with intermittent internet. As part of the evaluation, he informed me that my NETGEAR Router needed a firmware update which he did. After he left, I wondered how I would be able to update my router firmware by myself in the future, so I did an internet search for NETGEAR router updating. I chose the website "Routerlogin.net" (however, the web address at this site was routlog-in.com, which is different from the website name). With-in seconds, I received a pop-up chat screen asking if they could answer any of my question and I described my issue. They then stated that they would have a technician call me. Of note, the website mentioned NETGEAR repeatedly. With-in a couple of minutes, I received a phone call from "restricted" who tried to instruct me on what to do on my computer, but eventually he told me that he needed to take access of my computer to determine if my router was up-to-date and if there were any other issues. After taking access, and after scanning several ms-dos screens, he informed me that there were too many unauthorized users on my network and even showed me an ms-dos screen which said that I had several unauthorized users on my network. He pointed out that some of these users were "foreign". He said that he could fix any problems one time for about $149 and about $200 for one year. I initially said one time, but he convinced me on a one year subscription. He stated that they would not bill me up-front, but only after the problems were corrected. He did say as part of the work order that they would establish a new IP address for me. I asked who was billing me and if it was NETGEAR. He told me no; that it was a third party. I then asked him if he was a NETGEAR tech, and he responded by telling me that he was part of the NETGEAR Technical support team. I then agreed and he took over my computer and started going rapidly through several ms-dos screens. During the time that he had access to my computer, and because I was still very uneasy about who I was dealing with, I called NETGEAR directly. They told me that the person I was dealing with was not a NETGEAR Tech and advised to shut down my computer which I did immediately. I then received several phone calls from “restricted” which I did not answer. I then went through NETGEAR tech support subsequently. Yesterday, I went back to the website https://routlog-in.com and when the chat box popped-up immediately stating; “ask us anything”, I asked; “what technical support company provides your technical router support”. They responded by asking me; “please elaborate the problem that you are facing”. I responded by saying "what third party technical support company does your technical support on NETGEAR Routers”? There was no response, so I type; "are you still there? It was then that the chat box dropped out. I wanted to use the information to investigate the company to see if they were legitimate. I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and they suggested that I contact the Better Business Bureau who noted red flags in relationship to this company and recommended that I place a scam alert.