New twist to scamming

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  1. Posts : 7,781
    Win 7 32 Home Premium, Win 7 64 Pro, Win 8.1, Win 10
       #1

    New twist to scamming


    I volunteer my time to look at/fix PC's at the place where my Wife works. They have a senior center & if someone brings in a computer with a question, I'll look at it & sort out any problems.

    One guy brought his laptop in & said he recieved a call from a tech company claiming to be affiliated with MS. They remotely accessed his computer & then offered him a anti-malware tool, which comes with tech support for 3 years. For $199.00. Unfortunately, he agreed & put it on his credit card.

    The "Anti-Malware tool" they put on his laptop was JRT. That's right, the tool that is free. They didn't even change the default icon. They just renamed it "Malware & Virus removal tool," & the author was changed to "Thisisu."

    I was in shock when I saw the icon & said "You paid for this?" I showed him where it was available for free.

    When he asked me for options, I told him he best talk to his credit card company,explain the circumstances & see what his options are. He told me he would call them as soon as he got home. Also, he should ask them which authorities to contact to report this.

    So apparently now the scammers are charging people for free software, claiming that it's their special anti virus.

    I put up a note at the senior center warning people about the call scam. Lets hope everyone reads that & doesn't fall for what these jerks are doing.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,371
    W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
       #2

    Maybe the $199.00 was claimed to be an "install and setup" fee since the scammers put in a lot of labor to install that free tool.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4,566
    Windows 10 Pro
       #3

    Honestly while this is incredibly horrible, I would rather them install a legit tool then some other malware or backdoor. even though they probably did.....
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  4. Posts : 6,458
    x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
       #4

    Thisisu authors JRT, so they only changed the name of the file.

    This way to the egress
    - BT Barnum

    At least at the circus it only cost another nickel to get back into the tent. Now-a-days you can lose your life savings and your identity.

    It's a shame, but people are either too trusting or very gullible ... that's why scams work.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 7,781
    Win 7 32 Home Premium, Win 7 64 Pro, Win 8.1, Win 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Slartybart said:
    Thisisu authors JRT, so they only changed the name of the file.
    Wasn't sure on that, actually surprised they didn't change it also.

    Yeah, it is sad that people are preying on other people like that. From what he told me, the people assured him he needed this AV & it was recommended by MS. Yeah, at least it was legit software, but still...

    I saw his wife this morning as I was dropping off my Wife & she told me she called the "tech company" that called her husband, & after arguing with them for a bit, they told her they would cancel the 3 year tech support, but there would be a cancellation fee & she would still have to pay up &99 for the "services" they did. She pushed a bit more & they asked if she was a senior citizen. She said yes, to which they offered her a final price of $49.99.

    They told her they would send her an E mail stating she would get a $150 refund & all she had to do was reply with "I agree." She hasn't replied yet & I told her best to see what the credit card people say she should do. She's waiting for the fraud division to call her back.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 3,371
    W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
       #6

    This doesn't sound like a scam to me. Perhaps the company's sales tactics are a bit underhanded, but not a scam. We don't know what services were offered for that 3 year tech support contract. If they guaranteed to remove all infections over the next 3 years it would be a fair deal. We know they installed the free software but did they do any other work such as remove existing infections or any kind of performance tuning or maintenance?

    The fact that they were willing to drop the contract and return some of the money also points to a legit company.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 7,781
    Win 7 32 Home Premium, Win 7 64 Pro, Win 8.1, Win 10
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Yeah, I was actually VERY surprised when the company relented like that. They claim to have optimized the PC & are charging for that, as well as installation of "Their Antivirus Tool."

    I do know that they put a link on the desktop that said "Tech Support" & when I clicked it, it went nowhere, "Page not found."
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 6,458
    x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
       #8

    Borg 386 said:
    Slartybart said:
    Thisisu authors JRT, so they only changed the name of the file.
    .....
    They told her they would send her an E mail stating she would get a $150 refund & all she had to do was reply with "I agree." She hasn't replied yet & I told her best to see what the credit card people say she should do. She's waiting for the fraud division to call her back.
    Good news.

    I agree with you that the couple should rely on the Credit Card (CC) issuer, but they can be as bad as scammers sometimes.

    I went round and round with AOL and my CC company in the mid 90s trying to cancel my AOL subscription.
    AOL said I had to cancel inside the client - but that was already uninstalled and I was unable to reinstall with the same credentials (forget why now). I explained this to the CC issuer and they backed off the charges, only to have AOL issue them again. After explaining the situation again to the CC issuer, they finally admitted that they did all they could and I'd have to resolve it with AOL. I finally got AOL to end the subscription, but they said all they could do was authorize a 3 month reversal on the 9 months of charges! I was screwed and I wasn't a happy camper. I gave up after a few more months trying to get either the CC issuer or AOL to make me whole and learned my $120 lesson

    - what lesson? I'm not sure, other than be very careful, even with so-called reputable companies (AOL).

    I hope your acquaintances have better fortune. It seems that CC issuers make soooooo much money borrowing at near zero rates and charging 25-30 percent interest that they are more likely to forgive more of these types of charges. I really like the CC scam of 'money back' - they offer 2-5 % 'back' but they're already making ~ 20-25 percent, - nice business model, eh wot!

    To be fair, the CC issuers do have to cover loses in defaults, but bankruptcy (the honest defaults) law changes in the past 10 years really tilt the balance in their favor.

    I'm beginning to face the fact, we just can't win and they will nickel and dime us out of every penny.

    I apologize if my comments take the thread off topic.

    Bill
    .
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 8,608
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit SP1
       #9

    Did you look at the 'properties' on the tech support link?
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  10. Posts : 6,458
    x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
       #10

    Jacee said:
    Did you look at the 'properties' on the tech support link?
    Not sure what tech support link?

    If your post is a reply to my post - the issue was 20 years ago, way before AOL acquired TW. I'm not getting my money back

    If your post is a reply to Borg, is it reference to JRT or the scammer?
      My Computer


 
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