Technos Care

[link9675]

I was unable to scan on my HP 8028 printer and kept getting a “fatal error” message. I went to HP support website and during a “chat” with who I thought was an HP representative I was asked for my name and phone number and printer model number so a technician could call me. I immediately got a call from a technician who gave me a web address to enter which allowed him remote access my computer. He identified the problem as a “csrss.exe” Trojan horse virus on my PC. He said he could delete it, fix the fatal error message, and clean up my computer for $190. I agreed and he eventually did what he said he’d do, and I’m now able to scan and my PC operates much faster. But he then tried selling me a different security system other than the McAffe security suite I already had.  The system he was pushing seemed fairly high priced, but I reluctantly agreed to the lowest priced option he offered. However, when he sent me an invoice from “[edit]” I realized only then that he wasn’t working for HP. Then when he asked for payment via a scanned checked made out to “[edit]” with the amount left blank, warning bells went off and I balked. I told him I needed to do some research on his company before shelling out that kind of money for a security program I’ve never heard of.  However, he insisted I pay the $190 for the work he did to clean up my computer and I agreed to pay that amount, but via credit card only. I’ve been unsuccessful finding any meaningful info on this company.  I’m now worried that by taking control of my PC, some other malicious programs may have been installed. Is there a way to check? I’m curious if anyone else has had similar dealings with this company, details of their experience, and how they handled it. I’m also wondering how/why HP Chat assistant would facilitate a portal into an unknown company like this.    

[sandytechy20]

@link9675

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