PAYMENTS are coming to computer owners involved in a $25 million settlement – and the cash is being given out in days.
No proof is required to get your hands on a piece of the pie.
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The massive settlement is being given to victims of a scam by two companies, Restoro Cyprus Limited and Reimage Cyprus Limited.
The order states that these two companies, both based in Cyprus, scammed people by tricking them into paying for fraudulent tech support.
Restoro and Reimage took advantage of computer owners, many of who were elderly.
They fabricated the appearance of security issues and then sold them equipment that would apparently solve them.
Samuel Levine, former director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in March 2024 that Restoro and Reimage generated tens of millions of dollars using a program of “scare tactics and lies”.
According to the FTC, the scam would begin with a supposed scan that would alert serious problems on the computer, regardless if there was an issue or not.
The owner would then be convinced that either Restoro or Reimage could solve it with software.
This was typically sold for anywhere between $27 to $58.
After that, customers were given a number to activate it, but when customers called, telemarketers would instead sell them additional services.
They would often tell callers that the problems could actually only be solved by a technician which would cost hundreds.
One person who was targeted by Restoro said on Reddit: “I let them access my computer and after about 30-45 minutes of screwing around, they said there were extra problems that would cost $200-$300 to repair (I don’t remember exactly how much).
“By this time I was done with them and said no.
“She kept trying to hard sell me and eventually I hung up on her. She kept calling back”
They added that a local repair shop did a full scan, and didn’t find any of the issues Restoro cited.
She was originally told that the issue could be fixed “for about $40”.
IT OUTAGE SCAMMERS – BEWARE!
Beware the scammers, warns Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science.
This is going to cause a flurry of dangerous online scams.
Whenever major tech events happen like this, the criminals come crawling out of the woodwork to take advantage of innocent internet users.
You might find yourself receiving strange calls, texts, or emails, warning you about a hack and asking for info.
So be extremely cautious if you’re being asked for personal data, like your credit card info or phone number, to fix this IT outage.
You might also be told you need to download some security software urgently.
That’s another classic scam that lets crooks install dangerous malware on your machines.
Don’t fall for it: your computer should be totally fine, so you don’t need to take any action as a regular person.
This wasn’t a cyberattack – it’s just a bad computer update for businesses. Don’t listen to the scammers.
Payments for this settlement will be distributed on March 13 and March 14.
These will come in the form of 736,375 PayPal payments, as reported by the outlet The Hill.
Eligible customers will receive an email between Monday and Thursday.
The FTC advises people to redeem the payment within 30 days.
There is not an exact reported amount for how much each person is eligible to receive.
It is also unclear if the two companies worked together to scam the American public.
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