Scam: Independent Third Party Technical Support

I had a close friend get caught in this in the past week. It reminded me how vulnerable non-technical people are when something is not working right on their laptop, their printer, or something like their Hotmail email account.

It is so easy for the non-technical to get led down dangerous paths while they just look for the support they need to fix their problem.

One version of this scam is just a plain ole scam - the victim doesn't have any problem with their computer but they get a call or an email saying their computer DOES have a problem and they need to call such-and-such number to get technical support to fix it. Once they call the number, the "technician" (yeah, right...) downloads remote control software on the victim's system (now giving them access to EVERYTHING, including passwords, online banking... everything) and then charges them some fee for the service, which they'll charge via credit card or ask the money be wired with some lame story as to why they are making such a weird request. Other variations of this scam claim the victim's computer has been identified by the FBI as having illegal information on it... or porn and asking for a fee to have it removed and not prosecuted (the scammer is counting on real porn watchers being so embarrassed or intimated that they will pay and never let anyone know what has happened, ensuring the scammer gets off scot-free).

That's just a plain ole scam.

What my friend got caught in this past week was more of a deceptive unethical business practice scam than a regular ole gonna-steal-your-money scam (though the result is the same). These scams are distinct in that they actually pretend to provide a real service. And maybe they do, I'm not sure, but what I do know is how they get their customers is very slimy and what they do once they have a customer is also unethical and dangerous to the non-technical person seeking technical support.

These are independent, third party technical support companies, mostly operating out of India, who present themselves online is such a way as to confuse non-technical people. The victim thinks they are talking to Microsoft technical support, Hotmail technical support, Toshiba technical support, Canon technical support - whatever. The companies list themselves under as many brand names as they can online and present themselves as the support for those brands. I would say these sites include disclaimers saying they are not associated with the Brand in question, but non-technical people seem to miss these disclaimers. I still have to excavate why my friend thought she was calling Toshiba technical support and got this other company who did NOT identify themselves as not being the official Toshiba technical support so she proceeded.

And in proceeding, they downloaded remote control software on to her computer first thing and then charged her to cover one month of technical support. She figured her computer was not under warranty so neither of these things completely got her attention, though she admitted "something didn't seem right". They accessed her computer remotely and said they could not find the problem so of course there she was, having been charged, with remote control software on her computer and she STILL had the problem. It was only when she got an email confirmation of her payment that she realized she had been taken, for the receipt came from a company called iYogi.net (also using iyogi.com as well as well as other url names). It seems iyogi was a legitimate support provider at one time but now resorts to deceptive practices in order to acquire new customers. Here is a quote from the wikipedia page:

In March 2012, antivirus major Avast severed its ties with iYogi. Under the agreement that lasted a little more than two years iYogi had been providing online support to Avast users free of cost. Avast accused iYogi of forcefully selling its online support plans to Avast users which the Antivirus maker claimed to be unnecessary and expensive.

And here is the official statement from Avast, which reveals that iyogi was trying to increase revenue by claiming users had problems they didn't have: https://blog.avast.com/2012/03/15/iyogi-support-service-removed/

This user posted this comment online, not that long ago (just at the beginning of the month):

Tony
Dec 09, 2012  from Jefferson, Georgia
I called a phone # that was supposed to be for mcafee and wound up with Iyogi on the line they advertised three tears of total protection software for my computer,and help installing any new device's that I may purchase under same contract after having problems with thier tech support,and 24 to 30 hours on the phone with them,I still had some of the same problems they were supposed to have fixed .I called them back because after 30 hours on the phone with them in remote session I wanted to terminate thier services and dispute thier charges. the next morning my computer would not even boot up and I had to start in safe mode to a prior earlier known working date. then I found out they were disputing my complaint with discover and had maliciously taken over my e-mail address ,and since I havent sent any new e-mails I was unable too recover my hotmail account

There are a number of complaints with a similar theme posted at http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/IYOGI.aspx

iyogi tends to post a lot of "shill" articles online so that users will likely get rerouted to them in searching for technical answers. And it's been tricky, because apparently this company HAS been a support partner for legitimate brand names but has been using these slimy tactics to get money out of users.

And apparently their remote control software is almost impossible to remove off your system. Certainly can't be removed in the normal ways.

Today, another company that looks like it has the very same approach as iyogi attempted to post a message in my blog with a link to one of their shill pages. iveera.com & iveera.net. Same crap. They are pretending to provide Hotmail support. They certainly want to show up in the google search results as providing hotmail support. It confuses people because Microsoft does not provide live support for Hotmail. And Microsoft has to keep saying these companies are NOT affiliated with them. And iveera is pretending to provide Norton Antivirus support, McAfee support, etc. They have posted "expert" articles so they show up in search results. Non-technical people don't realize all the time they are calling some third party support company in India, that they will be charged, and that they then run the risk of having remote control spyware downloaded on their computer.

This type of scam will be found under many different company names and I'm sure more new ones going forward. It's always a good step to google a company first and see what comes up. I googled "iyogi scam" and pretty much saw everything I needed to know.

Okay, so what is my advice to the non-technical?

1. If you are speaking to a technical support person, do NOT purchase any software from them in order to resolve a technical support problem.

2. Always ask at the beginning of a technical support call if there is a fee or subscription fee associated with the service. If there is, hang up.

3. Never EVER give up control of your computer using remote control software unless you are ABSOLUTELY confident (100%) that the person you are speaking to is an authorized representative of that brand name for which you are seeking support (i.e. Microsoft, Toshiba, etc.)

4. Never ever provide your credit card or any financial information to anyone claiming to be a technical support person. If you are being asked this, hang up.

5. Technical support people NEVER call customers proactively to tell them they have a problem that needs resolving. Only scammers do this. If you receive a call or email offering support you didn't ask for... it is a scam.