Bogus pop-up ads

Companies linked to a Boca address targeted in technical support fraud investigation.

A group of companies linked to a Boca Raton address has been targeted by the Federal Trade Commission as part of a crackdown on technical support scams.

The companies caused ads resembling pop-up security warnings from Microsoft, Apple and other tech companies to appear on victims’ computers, the FTC said in a news release. The ads warned people that their computers had been infected with viruses, hacked or otherwise compromised, then urged them to call a toll-free number for assistance.

“Some of the pop-up ads even included a countdown clock, allegedly representing the time remaining before the computer hard drive would be deleted,” the release said.

After victims called the numbers on the pop-up ads, they would be connected to telemarketers claiming to be affiliated with Microsoft or Apple, the FTC release said.

The victims — many of them elderly — would be told that in order to diagnose the problem, they needed to allow the tech support companies remote access to their computers. Granting that access led to a series of “diagnostic tests” revealing grave problems requiring immediate repair by one of the companies’ “certified technicians,” the FTC said.

“Through these high-pressure tactics, the defendants would persuade consumers to pay hundreds of dollars for unnecessary computer repair services, service plans, anti-virus protection or software, and other products and services,” the news release said.

The fraud by the South Florida companies generated dozens of complaints and cost victims millions, according to the FTC’s request for a permanent injunction against the companies and restitution for the victims.

The government’s request for court action, which also cites companies from other states, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Called “Operation Tech Trap,” the FTC’s crackdown involved state and international law enforcement agencies, including the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the