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General discussion

TECH SUPPORT SCAMS!!!!

Apr 28, 2018 8:40PM PDT

I have been SWAMPED with customers falling for tech support scams. A few wouldn't pay so the scammers erased their data and then initiated a hard drive defragmentation so we know where that ended up....

Anyway, has everyone else in the business been seeing a major uptick in these scams? The average victim that I see pays out about $1000 or so before realizing something is wrong and calling me. They pay out the most the first time. That is usually in the $350-500 range. Then they call back a couple weeks later and request $150-200 more to fix another "problem". Then that happens once again and then again.....

For those who don't know what a tech support scam is, it is basically a scammer who convinces a computer user that there is a problem with their computer. They request access to the computer to "fix" a nonexistent problem and then once they have access, they request money or else.... They may call you and claim to be from Microsoft, Google, or some other tech company. Then they may pop up a message and lock your browser. They have a sense of urgency and tell you DO NOT TURN OFF THE COMPUTER but that is the best thing you can do if you don't know how to end the task. They tell you to call a phone number displayed as well. If you call that phone number and give them access, then you are done for! Another trick is when someone goes out and looks up support for anything from their printer to internet service provider. Most searches for something like "HP Support" will bring up more fake sites that closely resemble the real deal than the real deal itself! Then someone installs a "driver" or calls the number displayed. They think it is a reputable company so they give them access to their computer, then the request $400 to setup their $100 printer!

The average cost of these scams is usually around $1000. I have seen as little as $69 and as much as $16,000.

I started to see a big uptick in these scams sometime last fall. I realized it was a major problem so started changing my marketing to focus on the problem. I created a radio commercial focusing on these scams and then was interviewed by a newspaper reporter from a couple of the local papers. I was on the front page of two different area newspapers.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1xj8oxm24qe7shn/A1%20WARNING.mp3?dl=0

http://www.waynesvilledailyguide.com/news/20180308/keeping-computer-conscious

I have to laugh about the 40 hour week comment in that article though.
Now I am just swamped with fixing the problems caused by these scams. 80-90% of my workload during a typical week is dealing with these scams. People fall for them and are paying them good money so they apparently work and this is just encouraging the scammers even more. The problem is that the money is gone once it goes overseas and law enforcement cannot do anything because the crime is international and this isn't considered big fish compared to child porn and such.

Has anyone else seen this sudden and seemingly exponential increase in these types of scams? Searches online return countless articles talking about these types of scams. Microsoft, HP, and others have articles/pages dedicated to explaining these and how they work.

Conor

Discussion is locked

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I forgot to add.
Apr 28, 2018 8:45PM PDT

Someone called me from California and was telling me that someone from my company was calling them and reqeusting access to their computer and payment. I told them this was just a scam and not to do it.

I get people falling for several variations of Geeksquad and EasyTech all the time. Many people don't realize this isn't the real deal and fall for this, thinking they are using a legit service.

Conor

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I'm not in the fix-it business
Apr 29, 2018 6:15AM PDT

I've had a few of those calls.
The first time I denied them access.
The guy got annoyed and threatened to cut off my internet service.
I said fine....do it.....and I hung up.

Now I don't say anything I just hang up.

The vast majority of users know how to do 3 things.
Turn the machine on....turn it off....point and click.

Those folks are easy money.

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Yep! Those folks are easy money!
Apr 29, 2018 9:52AM PDT

That has been my experience. Since they DO know how to turn the computer off, I tell them to simply hold the power button in until that happens.

Conor

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all regulars here know about such scams
Apr 29, 2018 10:53AM PDT

I worry that with the coming of windows 10 these type scams are having a greater effect on people, especially those who have only switched to it recently. Microsoft has unfortunately introduced some bloopers in their updates recently that has increased computer problems at times for their users, probably adding to the angst. Things such as the fixes for Meltdown and Spectre created a number of problems, enough that old fixes were withdrawn, new ones came out, and still problems. Sometimes I get one of these guys on a phone and I have a bit of fun asking them if it's for W7 or W10 and they take a guess, then I tell them they MUST be mistaken because I'm using Linux, then I hang up on them, often they hang up quicker than I can, LOL.

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I figured most here were well aware of them....
Apr 29, 2018 9:21PM PDT

I am just amazed at how many people blindly fall for them. It is just one after another after another here!

Yes, there are lots of problems with Windows updates and another one is just about to come out. They usually go in fine as long as the computer is clean and everything is in good shape. I have never had a problem. A lot of the glitches with the updates are when people have like 5 different antivirus programs conflicting and non actually working, then all the viruses/malware because of this, etc. The computer is a disaster before the update and then the update craps out during the install. People are always shocked but I wouldn't expect any different after I actually see and work on the impacted systems. They are simply a complete mess!

Conor