Victim Location 98391
Total money lost $1,999
Type of a scam Tech Support
While trying to Print some last minute information I needed for my job, I got a constant pop up that I initially clicked out of. It became increasingly annoying, announcing that my PC had a virus & they were associated with Microsoft to trouble shoot it and repair it at no charge. I allowed it and then the charges popped up while the tech was in my PC holding it hostage!! I said I was displeased as they had said "Free". He then began to say that this would be 24/7 coverage for service and tech support for 2 years at $388.56. About that time, my husband came in the door and reminded me to get ready for work and he’d take over. They began putting such fear into a completely ignorant PC user and brought the charges to $4,499.00. When I got home from work, I was furious!!! I called their "Geek number & was directed to billing. I argued that they were abusing senior citizens, stealing from our account, & I was compiling a list of trusted organizations to report them to. They agreed to negotiate down the "fees". We were ready to leave for vacation & left 2 days later. They said the fees would be refunded to our account. Returning home, we locked our bank account, made a police report, & took the PC into a trusted repair business, where a complete check was $162.00. They said "Malware" had been placed on our PC as this could have been ongoing if we hadn’t taken steps to stop it. Our old bank account is locked accepting only return of funds. They returned $2,500.00 of $4,499.00 but the Fraud Dept will hold it to verify that it’s legitimate. My husband is absolutely sick over this. He was so distraught, I feared he’d do something drastic from his guilt. He is 68 years old.