subject: Don't be scammed by Remote Tech Support [print this page] Don't be scammed by Remote Tech Support Don't be scammed by Remote Tech Support
Where to really start I purchased this barnd new computer 3 months back and suddenly it started slowing down and eventually crashes. All the time I have to reboot my system to get back to my desktop. I was still very calm and patient with it, because I was in mood to lose this brand new box. Every now and then I had to deal with these problems, and I'm not a tech freak. I just know how to use it.
No matter how proficient you are, these problems are bound to happen that suddenly your computer might get stuck in the middle of your work. And then you might have to struggle with the wires a little bit to get it fixed and the most unfortunate is it still didn't get any better.
There is a requirement in our day to day life helping us with a diversity of services to assist you stay active and secure in the fast paced technological era we live in today. So I fiddled around with the newspaper and I saw this number of a computer repair service provider flashing on the back page of the newspaper. I didn't think twice before calling them because of this unfortunate urgency I was going through, though I was really scared because of the news these days about people getting scammed by these technical service providers.
So, the call gets connected to a computer recorded voice where after that I have been transferred to a person who calls himself a technician and assured me that there were problems with my PC, which could be fixed. They were describing the problem as my computer had virus and were offering to clean my system and install some package as antivirus. He asked me to download a program after what he took remote control of my computer so that he could install "fixes" and was also been asked to pay some amount as charge for the subscription to the "preventive service".
Though the value of the service was dubious but I still convinced myself to pay and provide them my card details so that they can charge me on my card. Right after I mentioned my card details he kept on hold for 30 minutes and suddenly the call goes dead, as just like a manual cut purposely. And there is no call back after that. And when I called them back all I get to here is that the number is out of service. That was a freaky shock to me.
I stopped trying there call and called my bank to get my account details and guess what by the time I caught hold of some back employee I already lost my $200 from my account. What scoundrel people is there man. I then hung up and went depressed for not only my money but all for my unrepaired computer.
This was very alarming to me to get through the same thing I usually read on newspapers. I told my neighbors about my situation to seek some help for my computer. And I get to know that these people attempt to use scare tactics' in a bid to get users to sign up for their computer repair' service with statements along the line of they already know that the user's computer is infected with malware and would be damaged beyond repair unless the user signs up and allow us to fix' the non-existent problem. The calls are completely fraudulent and this company has no idea of what is or is not on a user's PC.
Scams are not limited to theinternet; they now also use VoIP, landlines andcellphonesto phish for user's personally identifiable information (PII) and credit card details which will lead to Identity Theft and Fraud. Computer security is an essential component and all users should ensure that their firewall, antivirus and antispyware are updated and allOperatingSystempatches applied.
Then this noble person from my neighbor Mark came to me and told me about this iYogi technical service provider, with whom he had an account for almost 4 years. Four years?? It's a long time to get stick to one technical service provider without any problems. So I thought if I could go through such a big fraud why not to take some risk for something so worth checking out.
But this time I was very skeptical before taking any steps further so I took an hour and half to go through their website inside out. Read their testimonials on their website as well as the reviews on net. And found it pretty decent to work with.
After that I didn't waste any more time on thinking, picked my cell phone and made a call to them. The call got directly connected to the customer service from where, after telling them the problem, I got transferred to a live technician, Shawn. They gave me this total peace of mind. It took me five to seven minutes to make him understand the whole problem that I was going through. He asked me to relax and breathe, which was kind of hard for me.
He made me understand the problem that my PC was suffering from and assured me that it can be fixed. This happened because of the registry, cache files and update software in my computer which needs to be cleared time to time. Disk cleanup and disk defragmentation usually take a few hours and are well worth the down time. The tools needed to check the system (computer management and system performance) are under Administrative Tools.
He also described me about their service and plan that I had to take before taking their service. I bought the service because he said, "you don't have to buy the service, and at least now you know what's wrong exactly, to explain to whomever you get the system fixed by". I liked that about this.
The technician seemed very knowledgeable, professional and helpful. He was able to communicate all issues in an easy to understand manner. The support services are designed to help you make the best of the investment that you have made in software. Shawn asked me for my card details, listening to that I got a little paranoid. But later he explained that I don't have to give the card details directly to him, rather I have to put it in the link given to me, and the technicians will never have the access to that.
What a sigh of relief! By that time he understood the problem and when I returned to the call, he asked my permission for accessing my system remotely. He took the remote session for about forty minutes, also the same time describing me all the steps he is been performing on my PC. Shawn mentioned an amazing thing, he asked me to learn the steps so that if I go through the problem again later, I can then fix it on my own without going through the hassle of technician.
After forty minutes he asked me to restart my system and guess what, I got it back as I wanted it always to be. I still thank him from my heart. iYogi came as an angel to me for resolving my issues. In my own experience the best technical support I've ever seen has come from the individual and small companies making advanced products and the worst from the big companies making volume products.
Now I can say the easiest way to prevent becoming a victim of this kind of scam is by knowing that you only allow someone you know and trust to have access to your computer and definitely your card details.
