Victims of 'imposter scheme' set to receive compensation
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — In an announcement from the Federal Trade Commission this week, two tech support companies will pay $26 million to settle charges that they bilked money from consumers by duping them into buying computer repair services.
"With the imposter scheme, kind of the new take on it that we've been noticing, they're much more elaborate," Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorney Sammi Nachtigal said. "Impersonating businesses and government officials, and it's that combination that really puts people to make these decisions that they shouldn't otherwise make. They let their guard down because they actually think they're talking to a legitimate business person."
That's what apparently happened in this case. The FTC said Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited tricked consumers with phony threats, using fake Microsoft Windows pop-ups, stating that a victim’s computer system was infected with viruses. They then urged consumers to "scan" their devices "to avoid more damage."
The very same thing happened to a Columbus woman who called Better Call 4 back in 2022. She chose to remain anonymous but told us how it happened to her. She said a pop-up message just appeared on her computer.
"You call the number, they said.. the gentleman said that he was from Microsoft,” the woman said.
She told us "that man" told her that her personal information had been compromised and money would begin to disappear from her bank account; in order to put it back, she needed to buy gift cards.
She did and it cost her $8,500.
The woman never saw that money again, but according to the FTC, anyone affected by these companies will.
On March 13 and 14, the FTC will send 736,375 payments to eligible consumers. If you're one of them, the agency will send you an email, then a payment, via PayPal.
This case is just part of many the FTC is working on to protect consumers from scams. In 2024 alone, the agency secured more than $337 million in refunds for victims of fraudulent businesses, which is why consumers are encouraged to report scams like this.
"So, if we're getting enough reports about this type of practice or this scam in particular, and we're seeing that grow, we're getting a lot of complaints about it, we're going to look into it," Nachtigal said.
A reminder that the FTC will never require payment or personal account details to process refunds.
If you receive a refund, the only action you need to take is to redeem that payment within 30 days.