The FTC and the State of Alabama recently settled with several tech support companies which were alleging to be from major technology companies such as Microsoft and Apple. The companies include:
- Trothsolutions Inc.
- Trothsolutions LLC
- Quickkonto LLC
- Crazy Bee Man of Palm Beach Inc.
- eDoorways International Corp.
- Airoways LLC
- Escue Energy, Inc.
These tech support companies were advertising online, and also creating pop-up alerts on endpoint screens saying the device was infected and they needed to call a 1-800 number for assistance. Upon doing so, the fraudulent support technicians were asking for authorization to remotely access the computer. Once they had access, they would run fake diagnostic scans saying there were issues within the PC. This was followed by “remediation efforts” to “fix” the “issues” which cost the user hundreds of dollars. However, keep in mind, there is really nothing wrong with the device.
Two settlements were issued. The first was for $2 million, which has been suspended. According to The Register, the defendants must comply with the following conditions in order for the settlement to remain suspended:
- Do not advertise, market, promote or sell any tech support products or services
- Pay $10,000
- Sell one of their cars
According to the press release from Guru3d, the other settlement was for $547,087, which will be suspended upon payment of $61,360.
Earlier this year, the FTC began issuing refunds to the victims. The funds totaled $10 million; although the amount issued to each victim is not clear.
**PC Matic is unable to assist victims identify if they are entitled to a partial refund by the FTC. If you are a PC Matic subscriber, and need assistance with the program, you may reach out support team at www.pcmatic.com/help.
