Tech scams net millions

FraUD • The U.S. has taken steps to shut down several tech support scams that have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.

Six separate rings of scam artists, most in India, call people in the U.S., Canada, Australia and elsewhere, identify themselves as working for reputable companies and ask the victim to check his or her computer. The consumers are then told their computer has a virus that can be removed for a fee of $49 to $450.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz estimated that the scams have netted tens of millions of dollars.

The FTC froze the U.S. assets of scam artists, had their websites taken down and convinced U.S. phone carriers to shut down services that allowed them to operate from India using U.S. telephone numbers.

Most of the groups phoned consumers claiming to be from legitimate companies such as Microsoft or Dell, while the sixth advertised through Google.

There were 2,400 U.S. victims of these scams but the FTC has received 40,000 complaints about it.