“Your system is infected with three viruses.”
It’s a chilling message to receive on your Windows laptop, but that fear soon turns to anger when you realise you’ve been duped.
This week, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would pay out more than $25.5 million to Windows users deceived by a scam that convinced them to buy so-called “computer repair” software. The payment is the result of a settlement order with the scammers.
The scam was run by two companies — Restoro and Reimage — based in Cyprus. The FTC settled with the companies in March 2024, and this week, customers will receive some of their money back, the FTC announced on Monday.
“The FTC will send 736,375 PayPal payments on March 13 and 14 to consumers who paid for computer repair services. Consumers who are eligible for a payment will get an email between now and March 13. Recipients should redeem their PayPal payment within 30 days.”
According to the FTC, the scam was a drawn-out affair designed to create an endless flow of cash from each consumer.
Fake Microsoft Windows pop-ups lied to consumers by informing them that their system was infected with viruses and urging them to “scan” their computers “to avoid more damage.” Apparently, regardless of the true health of one’s computer, the scans identified serious issues that needed to be fixed immediately.
Following the scans, the scammers urged consumers to purchase their software online to “fix” the alleged problems or remove alleged viruses and malware. The software cost $27 to $58.
After consumers bought the software, the scammers gave them a number to call to “activate” it. Then, Restoro and Reimage telemarketers attempted to sell even more services by accessing consumers’ computers and misrepresenting that routine computer errors and messages were signs of malware, viruses, or other problems.
The charlatans routinely asserted that the computer problems couldn’t be fixed without additional help from a technician, which cost hundreds more.
For years, computer users had been complaining about Restoro. Here’s one nightmare scenario posted to Reddit:
“Restoro is awful. I installed it about 10 months ago, it told me I had problems which could be fixed for about $40. 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. I ended up bringing it to a local repair place, and they didn’t find any of the malware/viruses Restoro said were on my computer.
The story continues:
“It became apparent they were probably going to charge me every year, so I made sure to get an email confirming my cancellation. I just got a call from them saying the software was expiring tomorrow and if I didn’t cancel I’d be automatically charged $200-300, and that I had to give them access to my computer so they could remove the software. I told him about the email, and he threatened that they had [every] right to charge me if I didn’t allow them access. Don’t trust them!!”
“These companies used scare tactics and lies about threats to consumers’ personal computers to bilk consumers, particularly older consumers, out of tens of millions of dollars,” said Samuel Levine in March 2024. Levine was Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at the time. “We have taken decisive action to halt this scheme and return money to consumers.”
If, for some reason you have Restoro on your computer right now, check the FTC FAQ page.
In equal measures galling and unsurprising, Restoro software is still available to download, too. One site has a $625 price listed, but there’s a free trial.
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