As I’ve often related to my customers, it’s not always easy to go after a computer scam company. You know, the ones that call you on the phone and tell you your computer is infected. Or, the ones that cause those pop-ups that tell you your machine is infected and you shouldn’t shut it off. Why is it difficult to stop them? Because many of these companies are located in countries where the authorities aren’t interested or aren’t capable of going after them.*
Still, I have some good news! Last week, Florida’s Attorney General filed papers against one of these scam companies. Unbelievably, the company is located in Sunrise, Florida – just down the road from us here at Keystone Computer Concepts. Below, I’m giving you the link to the Miami Herald article if you’d like to read the complete story. However, I want to point out some of the highlights which, if you’re our customer, should sound very familiar to you.
- “unless you applied for a job there, Microsoft isn’t calling you”
- “If the caller says he or she is from Microsoft, hang up. Microsoft isn’t phoning you about anything.”
- “Microsoft doesn’t do pop-ups or ask you to call them, either.”
- “Don’t click on pop-ups declaring a virus, malware or spyware has suddenly been found. It hasn’t.”
- “If a phone call starts “Do not hang up…” immediately hang up.”
- “Don’t give anyone remote control of your personal computer.”
Of course, I would add to that last quote – “except us!” Or, any company like us who you know is honest and would never use scam tactics to get you to buy their service.
The Attorney General’s hope is to get this company to pay punitive damages to the people they scammed and to the State. Our hope is that the AG succeeds.
To read the entire article, click the button below:
*If you want to read more about these fake phone calls and fake pop-ups, here are some previous blog posts that explain everything: