HP Support Scam

[ParisinCO]

I am freaking out. Had to make a quick purchase of an HP Windiws laptop via Amazon--verified source, "Amazon Choice," etc. for a time sensitive work project. Immeduayely afyer set up, it began crashing every 10 minutes or so, with a "driver verification ram error." After running system diagnostics & installimg Windows updates for hours, couldn't find the issue or correct it.  I visited the legit HP Support  site directly, called the number & spoke to a guy in India. He seemed compketely legit, but then transferred me to another dude. I gave him my first name & initial of last name, email address, & phone number (in case we got cut off). He also has my computer serial number. Halfway through the call, I received 2 emails from him. One was legit HP Support, the other looked jenky, but had a legit senders' address. He asked me to reply to the jenky one with the image from the first (after I verified that the specs were correct). I should have known then, but was desparate for help after 7 hours. After I sent it, I hovered on the address again & it changed...was totally a scam. I called the guy out and hung up. I gave no banking info or address, etc. but he has my number, email, & the serial number for that computer (not the one I normally use, thankfully). And the crashing is atill happening. I am freaking out

[ParisinCO]

P. S. Sorry for tbe typos. Wrote this quickly on my phone

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @ParisinCO 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

You're absolutely right to feel shaken—what you experienced is a textbook example of a tech support scam, and your instincts to cut off contact were spot-on. The good news is: you didn’t share financial or deeply personal data, and you still have control of your device. 

Let’s walk through how to secure everything and get your system stable again.

1. On the scam concern:

From what you’ve described, the scammer only has your first name, email, phone number, and device serial number. Those details alone are not enough for identity theft or banking fraud.

The risk here is mostly phishing attempts — they may try to reach out again via phone or email pretending to be HP or another service.

2. What to do right now:

Ignore further calls or emails from numbers/addresses you don’t fully trust.

Mark/report the scam email as phishing in your inbox so your provider blocks similar ones.

Change your email password (and enable 2-step verification if you haven’t). This way, even if they try something, your account stays secure.

If you see any odd login attempts on your accounts, update passwords right away.

3. About your laptop issues:
The crashes you described (driver verification error, frequent reboots) sound like a Windows or driver corruption problem — not something the scammer caused. Since it’s a new HP laptop, the quickest way to stabilize it is:

Run HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (hold Esc while turning the laptop on, then choose F2 → system tests).

If it passes hardware tests, use HP Cloud Recovery Tool to reinstall a fresh, factory image of Windows.

Official instructions: HP Cloud Recovery Tool

4. Peace of mind:

They don’t have access to your bank or personal identity details — just be alert for fake emails or texts.

You now know their tactics, so you’re in a stronger spot than before.

Would you like me to outline the exact reset steps for your HP laptop, so you can wipe it clean and start fresh without worrying something’s hidden on it?

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye