A widespread tech support scam has finally been forced to shut down, with the FTC reimbursing victims $25.5 million in refunds. We’ll uncover why this scam was notorious for tricking victims and who’s eligible for a payment as we sit down and sync up with Rocket IT’s weekly technology update.

In this episode, you’ll hear more about:

• The FTC sending $25.5 million in refunds after shutting down a major tech support scam.
• How thousands of victims were tricked into paying for fake computer repairs.
• The realistic security pop-ups that were used to trick victims.
• Why customers were pressured into paying hundreds of dollars for useless services.
• The FTC’s undercover investigation to learn how the scam worked.
• How to know if you qualify for a refund.

Video Transcript

If you’ve been on the internet long enough, it’s likely you’ve come across a pop-up or two, claiming that your device is at risk. Often, there is a real company behind these scams. But instead of fixing anything, they used deceptive ads and fake system warnings to scare people into paying for unnecessary repairs. And this didn’t just affect individuals, businesses are also targeted, putting company data and IT budgets at risk.

Now, when it comes to this most recent investigation by the FTC, two major players were studied – Restoro and Reimage. Both of their scams started the same. Deceptive online ads were designed to look exactly like real Windows error messages or system alerts. People would be browsing the web when, suddenly, a warning appeared saying their computer was infected, running slow, or at risk of crashing. These pop-ups claimed to be scanning the computer in real time, but that obviously wasn’t true.

Clicking one of these ads pressured the person into downloading software that promised to fix the problem. Once installed, this software would run a fake scan and, without fail, find hundreds of critical issues that needed immediate attention. At that point, users were told they could fix everything by purchasing a repair plan.

After paying, customers were then told to call tech support to activate their service. On these calls, scammers would take remote access to the computer and claim to find even worse problems. Then, they pushed even higher-priced repair plans that didn’t actually do anything.

As you might imagine, the FTC wasn’t fooled. To prove how deceptive this was, investigators bought the software and tested it on completely clean, fully updated computers. Despite there being no real issues, the scam continued to pressure investigators into paying for expensive repair plans

Now, after a year-long legal battle, refunds are finally going out. Over 736,000 people are getting payments, with the FTC distributing a total of $25.5 million. Refunds began appearing via PayPal on March 13. If you’re wondering whether you’re eligible, check your email. The FTC is sending direct notifications to victims, and if you’re on the list, you’ll receive a PayPal payment.

Unfortunately, scams like this aren’t going away anytime soon. The best way to protect yourself is to be skeptical of any pop-up warning that appears while you’re browsing the internet. Real security alerts from Windows or macOS don’t come from random websites. If you ever see a message telling you to call a number for support, don’t do it.

And for businesses, the risk is even greater. Employees who fall for these scams could hand over remote access to company devices, expose sensitive logins, or even install malware that infects the entire network. An IT partner, like Rocket, can help by keeping systems updated, training employees to recognize pop-up scams, and ensuring that if an issue does come up, your team knows exactly where to turn for real help. To ensure your team isn’t left to second-guess every warning message they see, contact Rocket IT using the link in this video’s description. And to stay up to date on trending technology news, hit that subscribe button and the bell to catch us on next week’s episode of Sync Up with Rocket IT.