A U.S. District Court recently ordered the operators of several international tech support scams to pay more than $5.1 million for convincing people that their computers were riddled with viruses and then charging for bogus support services.
Weve written before about tech support scammers. They call and claim to work for well-known companies like Microsoft, Norton or McAfee. They say your computer is infected with malware and then ask for remote access so they can fix it. Or they place ads in online search results to trick you into calling them.
You might have gotten a call like this:
A 2012 FTC crackdown on tech support scams led to the recent court order. Unfortunately, new scammers pop up quickly. If you get an urgent call from someone who wants remote access to your computer, hang up and report it at ftc.gov/complaint.
Nicole Vincent Fleming
Consumer Education Specialist
Topics: Avoid ScamsTagged with: computer security, malware, phone call, scamSource: www.onguardonline.gov
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