Qtech care?is it real or a scam?

[olderlady]

Hi, I got my lap top a few months ago and use it only rarely. Shortly after I got it I got a call from Q tech care saying that my lartop had beem compromised and they charged me $299 to unfreeze everything and get my laptop working again. Then a few weeks later they called me again and said that I had to pay an additional $350 if I wanted to keep my laptop running smoothly. They did tell me that they were in some way connected to HP but now I'm wondering if I got taken for a ride. Just last week I got another call from them wanting me to spend more money and when I questioned them they just hung up and never called back.

I would appreciate an answer as I feel like I've been royally duped.

Thanks a lot from olderlady

[WyreNut · Accepted solution]

Hello, and Welcome to the HP Support Community!

HP will never call you "out of the blue" about an issue.  Unfortunately, I believe you have been swindled...  😞

There is a warning about scammers at the top of each page here on this Forum:

"Be alert for scammers who may be posing as HP representatives and only call numbers from people who have a label next to their screen name. If you think you have received a fake HP Support message, please report it to us by clicking on the blue “Report Inappropriate Content” button above the message. Thank you!"

There are evil scam artists pretending to be anyone and everyone these days!  I've received calls from these liars pretending to be from MicroSoft, the Internal Revenue Service, etc.   They even fake the Caller ID shown on your phone when they call.

I hope you can stop any payments you have made!   

WyreNut

[Dragon-Fur]

@olderlady

Welcome to the HP Community Forum - we are a community of HP enthusiasts!

I am sorry this happened to you.   

HP does not call you unannounced.

  HP does not contact you by email and claim your computer infected, that it is compromised, or that you "must call now" to get help.

  HP does not paste banners across your computer screen threatening you.

Unfortunately, you have indeed been "taken for a ride".  

You are certainly not the only one to whom this has happened -- little comfort, I know.

Worse, now that you are a known by these folks, you may get more calls from either the same thieves or other people who want to take advantage and take more of your money.  

When you want to connect with HP Technical Support - you should initiate the contact.

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