FTC Sends 57,960 Refunds to Tech Support Scam Victims
Tech support scams are nothing new. They’ve been around for ages. I am sure you have seen a popup window telling you that your computer has been infected with virus, or you have some other security issue, and you are asked to purchase tech support service to fix the problem (which you don’t have). Of course, no one is running an antivirus scan on your computer, it’s a deceptive way to con innocent people who fall for these scams.
Recently, FTC filed a case against the scammers who, in addition to popup windows, were also running deceptive ads on Google and other search engines to give an impression that the ads are from major corporations. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “The ads and popups claimed to be from major tech companies such as Microsoft and Apple and tricked consumers into calling the defendants and buying tech support services that consumers did not need.”
These crooks have been operating under Click4Support, LLC and other names. If you are curious, you can check out all the other business names that they’ve used and the names of the owners of these companies on the FTC’s website. Makes you wonder, did these scammers not know that sooner or later they will get caught?
FTC Refunds
FTC is sending refunds totaling more than $1.7 million to 57,960 people who were victims of the tech support scams. Out of the 57,960 people, 57,813 will receive a PayPal payment because FTC doesn’t have the mailing addresses of these people. The remaining 147 people will receive a payment in the form of check. If you are among the victims, make sure you cash your check within 60 days. If you receive a PayPal payment make sure you accept the payment within 30 days. If you are wondering if FTC sends out PayPal payments, visit this FAQ page. If you want to apply for a refund in an FTC case, visit this page.
If you have any questions about the refunds, call the refund administrator at 1-877-389-4472. Last year FTC sent out more than $232 million in refunds to consumers across the United States.
Avoid Being a Victim of Tech Support Scams
Here’s some helpful information from the FTC on how to avoid being a victim of these scams.
Click on the above image to download the infographic. FTC’s website is loaded with some very useful information. I encourage you to visit their site. They have lots of good resources, tips, and advice for consumers that you will appreciate.
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