A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint filed in June culminated in the shutdown of the billion-dollar operations of technical support scammers working out of several US states and Canada. The agency announced the shutdown July 8.
The scammers duped victims out of an estimated $1.5 billion annually by scaring them with bogus claims that their Windows and Apple computers are infected with malware, which lead to high pressure sales of overpriced services and software.
Federal authorities closed down their operations in Florida, Iowa, Nevada and Canada; took out their websites; and froze their assets.
The companies offer fake tech support by luring victims with fake pop-up messages, which is contrary to the typical cold-calling scam. The messages claimed that the user’s computer was infected with viruses and malware, then encourage them to call a toll-free number. During the call, victims will be scared into purchasng overpriced remote “cleaning” services and subjected to high-pressure sales pitches for monthly “maintenance” services and software.
The FTC filed the complaints against six individuals and six companies who go by business names such as Big Dog Solutions, Help Desk National, Help Desk Global, PC Help Desk, Inbound Call Specialist, BlackOptek CE, 9138242 Canada and Digital Growth Properties.
