Tech support scam victims lost $120 million—and will get $10 million back

Victims of a tech support scam are about to get refunds, but on average they will recover less than 10 percent of what they lost.

The Federal Trade Commission is sending e-mails to victims of the scam with instructions on how to claim a partial refund, the agency said today. Scam victims will have until October 27 of this year to apply for a refund.

The case stems from November 2014, when the FTC announced that "a federal court has temporarily shut down two massive telemarketing operations" that raked in more than $120 million "by deceptively marketing computer software and tech support services."

The FTC later won big court judgments against the companies involved, but the defendants didn't have enough money left to pay up. One monetary judgment of $29.5 million was suspended because of the defendants' financial condition.

But the FTC was able to recover $10 million in a December 2016 settlement with defendants including Inbound Call Experts, a company also known as Advanced Tech Support. A previous settlement with companies accused of generating leads for the telemarketers brought in $258,000.

The FTC did not say exactly how many people will get refunds or what the typical refund amount will be. But the FTC today said that Advanced Tech Support's victims number in the "hundreds of thousands."

People who bought products and services from Advanced Tech Support between April 2012 and November 2014 are eligible for refunds.

The online application to apply for refunds is available at this FTC webpage. The FTC also suggests calling the refund administrator at 877-793-0908.

False claims of viruses and malware

The defendants who paid $10 million "used high-pressure sales pitches to market tech support products and services by falsely claiming that people’s computers were infected with viruses and malware," the FTC said today.

"The company used online ads, search results, and partnerships with software developers to lure consumers to call Advanced Tech Support," the FTC said. Once victims called, telemarketers urged them to sign up for bogus technical support subscriptions and services that sometimes cost hundreds of dollars, the FTC said.

The defendants are allowed to continue doing business, but the settlement prohibits them from lying about performance or security problems on people's computers. "Under the order, a federal judge will appoint a monitor to oversee the defendants' business for two years, at the defendants' expense," the FTC said when it announced the settlement.

Still another set of defendants was ordered to pay $36.4 million, but the judgments were partially suspended due to the defendants' lack of money. A settlement in that case required the defendants to relinquish all of their assets.

Despite the multiple cases and settlements, an FTC spokesperson confirmed to Ars that $10 million is the total amount available for refunds.

Beware of government impersonators

People receiving messages about refunds should be careful, because some fraudsters impersonate government agencies in order to get more money from victims.

"You never have to pay to get a refund in an FTC case. Anyone who asks you to pay for a refund is a scammer," the FTC said. Such scammers should be reported to the FTC.

The FTC's e-mails about refunds for tech support scam victims will come from subscribe@subscribe.ftc.gov and contain a claim number and PIN that will let recipients apply for refunds. The settlement required defendants to provide customer information to the FTC, letting the agency identify people who are due refunds.