Tech Support Scams Are Out There

Again we’ve received more phone calls from people who have been affected by scam artists who are using our name to get you to pay for supposed “computer repairs”.

A woman from Illinois contacted us today regarding a small charge on her credit card that was for a PayPal account. She had been contacted by someone saying that her computer had problems and he was from Madison Geeks and could remotely take care of the issue if she gave him her credit card number.

Madison Geeks never has and never will call people who are not current customers or who have not contacted us directly to do computer repair work.

This seems to be similar to a complaint filed with the Janesville, Wisconsin police department last week.

Related Links:
Computer Repair Scam Hits Janesville March 17, 2017

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March 4, 2017- We’ve had a couple of calls recently regarding attempts by scam artists to use our good name in trying to break into computers.

• These scammers call people randomly using phone numbers they have been able to scrape off the internet.
• They claim to be a tech support person from our company and use high pressure tactics or create a sense of urgency to try to gain access to your computer.
• They claim that they’ve detected viruses or malware on your computer and they want to run a “free” security scan on your computer.
• They are convincing enough to get people to give them remote access to their computers and charge them large fees for supposed “virus cleansing” or by selling software that you don’t need.
• They are out to scam you and take your money.

Madison Geeks never has and never will call people randomly to warn you of any internet threat or try to gain access to your computer.

If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to be from Madison Geeks, hang up on them and call our office. Unfortunately, many of these calls will occur during hours when we are not open, however our answering service will take a message and we will respond as soon as possible.

The Federal Trade Commission has a number of great tips on how to deal with these scammers at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams

Advice on how to deal with the aftermath

If you have responded to a scam and given them access to your computer, we advise you to run a malware detection program on your computer and change any passwords that you had given the caller. If you use that password on other online accounts, change those as well.

The FTC also recommends that, if you paid with a credit card, contact your credit card provider to get the charges reversed and make sure you check your monthly statement to make sure there are no other suspicious charges.

If you paid for this scam tech support and later get a call a month or so after the original calle about a refund don’t give the caller any information, credit card number or bank account number. The FTC urges you to report the call to https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.

If you are concerned that you’ve mistakenly worked with these scammers and they have accessed your computer, we can help make sure your computer is clean of malware any any software they may have installed. We can help you remotely or here in our shop. Contact us today to setup an appointed with our trained technicians, or stop by our location on Odana Road in Madison.

Related Links:
Computer Repair Scam Hits Janesville March 17, 2017

Madison Geeks on WMTV story 7/30/2014 – Homeowner Warns About Harassing Phone Scam