A King County Superior Court has forced iYogi, one of the world's largest tech support companies, to cease operating in the US, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
The Attorney General sued India-based iYogi in 2015, accusing it of using deceptive scare tactics on its customers, costing Washingtonians upwards of $4 million.
The tech support scams often targeted Microsoft and Apple users.
When Carol Anderson, 71, of Kent had problems with her printer three years ago, she asked for help.
"I was trying to fix the wireless between my printer and my laptop because I figured I messed up something in there," she said. "So I called Hewlett Packard."
Anderson ended up getting a company called iYogi instead, who claimed to be an official tech support affiliate for Hewlett Packard. Their ads often appear at the top of Google search results for Microsoft and Apple as well.
Anderson paid them $120 to fix it. When the problem persisted, iYogi told her she needed their anti-virus software subscription.
"I needed to get that or it wouldn't do any good to work on it. So I fell for that too. And that was $159," Anderson said.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson believes thousands in Washington state fell victim to the same scam: fraudulent computer scans indicating "critical" warnings that convince customers they needed iYogi software and services when nothing was wrong with their computer.
"They log into your computer remotely, red flags start coming up," said Ferguson. "You've got viruses, they tell you, 'You need to buy this product to address it. You may not even know you're scammed by iYogi.' That's part of the challenge here is that folks might not even realize it's happened to them."
Posing as consumers, the AG's investigators had iYogi scan their new computers. According to Ferguson, even on brand new operating systems, iYogi identified "infected files."
A King County Superior Court found IYogi to be in violation of the Washington State Consumer Protection Act, forcing the company to cease operation in the US.
iYogi is also supposed to pay $6.3 million in restitution and damages. Ferguson said because the company is overseas in India there is some question about the ability to collect that payment.
Ferguson's office said they've obtained information that iYogi India has shed most or all of its employees and is all but shut down because of the lawsuit.
Anderson is relieved someone held iYogi accountable.
"I'm very glad about that," she said. "But you know there is going to be more out there popping up."
The Attorney General’s Office offers the following tips to avoid tech support scams:
• Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm it is a legitimate representative from a company where you’re already a customer;
• Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the “service.” If there is, hang up;
• Do not provide Social Security numbers, banking, or credit card or other financial information; and
• Protect personal computers with legitimate and updated security software.
Victim of a tech support scam? Contact the Washington State Attorney General’s Office
If you believe you are a victim of the iYogi scam, or any other tech support scam, file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at http://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.
Get additional Internet safety tips, advice and information on the Attorney General's website.
