My IT Advise

Victim Location 36109

Total money lost $349.99

Type of a scam Tech Support

This morning, I opened up a brand new laptop. After logging into my email, and then using Yahoo to look up a word’s definition, a red warning screened popped up on my computer, telling me that my laptop was infected. On the warning screen, it listed a number to call. When I did this, someone on the other end attempted to explain what happened. They were able to describe, "almost to a T," what occurred–appearing if they were credible. After a lengthy explanation, I was provided several payment options. Again, everything seemed very credible, because as the conversation progressed, I was receiving information via my email, stating what was occurring. After I made an initial payment, I received a payment confirmation email, as well as a document that discussed the repair services. It was not until I had been on the phone with a technician for more than 8 hours, that I realized something was not quite right. While they called throughout the day with updates, and I could physically see something happening on my laptop, it did not resume regular operations.

While on the phone, I was provided a Tech-ID (MID114). In addition, my technician gave me the physical address and phone number (18772325641). I was charged $349.95.Confirmation emails came from the following addresses: [email protected] and [email protected] Both emails, again, looked very credible.

It was not until I returned to the store where I purchased my computer, that I learned that this was a scam. The store personnel informed me that he sees this type of scam all the time–that the warning screen that popped up on my computer, was really an advertisement to get money out of me.