TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The deadline to claim restitution resulting from the Florida Attorney General’s multimillion-dollar action to stop several tech support scams is fast approaching. The deadline to file a claim is Friday, Oct. 2. Thousands are eligible for restitution nationwide and consumers have already claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Cash is available for consumers who were scammed by several phony tech support companies investigated by my office, but action must be taken before the fast-approaching deadline. If you or someone you know were the victim of one of these tech support scams, please visit the reimbursement website and submit a claim by Friday, Oct. 2.”
For more information on how to submit a claim, visit FloridaAGReimbursement.com or call the toll free number 1(877) 315-6101.
The claims process follows a massive tech support scam investigation by the Florida Attorney General’s Office into the following companies: Complete Fix, Compusafe, JSA Sales, GoReadyCalls Marketing, My Direct Customer Care, My Direct Tech, PC Tech Pros, Project Net 123, Protectnet Solutions, Safenet Solutions, Secure IT Digital Solutions, Telcom Experts, US Software Experts, US Software Pros, Webguard 123 and Wizard Tech Solutions. Another company, Banc of America Merchant Services, provided payment processing for the accused companies. Through an agreement with Banc of America Merchant Services, a claims process is now in place with $7,200,000 available for victims.
The investigation revealed that more than 100,000 people nationwide fell victim to the tech support scams perpetrated by these companies. Several rounds of claims notices went out to thousands of potential eligible consumers nationwide with information about how to obtain restitution.
Since 2014, the Florida Attorney General’s Office has successfully shut down 13 tech support scams—representing the most tech support scam cases filed by any single state agency in the country. Attorney General Moody filed the most recent case in March 2019 against American PC Corporation.
Tech support scams typically involve fake pop-up messages or imposter phone calls claiming that a consumer’s computer is infected with malware that poses an imminent risk to the device. Fraudsters will request virtual access to a victim’s computer to supposedly fix the nonexistent problem or offer an unnecessary software product. These scammers often target seniors.
Recently, Attorney General Moody issued a brochure outlining these types of scams through the new Scams at a Glance program. To view the brochure, click here. To view the Spanish brochure, click here.
For more general information on avoiding tech support scams, click here.
To report a suspected scam, submit a complaint by calling the Florida Attorney General’s Office at 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.
